Persona 5: Behind the Scenes
by A1t0Aria
Summary: Yusuke is a delinquent? Akira is a comedian? Morgana is a doll? Makoto is a loud tomboy? What's going on? Turns out that Persona 5 is just a game acted by a group of students in Shujin Academy! Enjoy reading the life of the actors and laughing at their no-good shots! (WARNING: Huge amounts of OOC and coarse language) (Discontinued until I have motivation to continue again)
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Note: For easy reference, the actors and actresses still retain the same names as they do in the Persona 5 game. There will be huge changes in personality in some characters, but some of them will not be very different._ _This story will include romance, but the couples will be kept a secret for now. This story will also not always be full of random and funny crack, but will also have some emotional parts. This chapter is extra long as I have placed the original versions of Chapter 1 and 2 together to introduce most of the characters._

 _I will not be updating this story very often, because I'm actually currently close to exam period in my school. This chapter was uploaded because I wanted to introduce you guys to the characters as early as possible._

 _Warning: Expect a huge amount of OOC from some of the characters in this story, and coarse language!_

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"Dad! Mum! I got a role! I got a role!"

Mr Kurusu turned to him in surprise. "You got a role in Persona 5?!"

Akira Kurusu nodded excitedly as a large smile beamed all over his face, causing a happy glow to engulf him.

Squealing in joy, Mrs Kurusu dropped her ladle back onto the plate beside the cooking pot and gave him a bone-crushing hug. "Yeah! That's my baby! That's the pride of the Kurusu Comedians!"

Akira could only chuckle at his mother's comment. She wasn't wrong. They were a famous family of comedians, after all. Thinking back, Akira had started being a comedian ever since he was a child, and quickly clambered to the top of stardom and success thanks to his witty and hilarious personality.

He still could not believe that he had attained a role in that game from such a famous franchise. The Persona series was a very popular franchise, especially after the students from Gekkoukan High School acted in Persona 3 and the students from Yasogami High School acted in Persona 4. Akira had to admit, Persona 3 was a huge tearjerker for him, but Persona 4 brought him a lot of laughter.

Both schools in real life were schools of the Performing Arts and Media, so Akira wasn't really surprised that his school, Shujin Academy, which was also a school of such category, would be selected for Persona 5.

And he actually got into it!

Akira could barely contain his glee, but couldn't help wondering if the role which he had attained was going to just be a random confidant rather than any of the main characters. After all, he was a comedian! The Protagonist, also known as Joker in the game, was so stoic! But he couldn't blame the game developers. The people who played the games were supposed to choose their Protagonist's personality.

Thinking back to his school, however, Akira could not help but smile at what happened on his first day at school...

* * *

 _Few weeks ago..._

"WAKE UP, GET OUT, GET OUT THERE!" Akira's mother screamed as she dragged the covers off him before she pulled the curtains wide open to let in the sunlight, causing Akira to shriek in agony and frustration.

"AAAAH...!"

"Come on, kiddo! We gotta get you up and ready for your first day at school!" Mrs Kurusu sang back at him as she gave him a huge grin before sailing out of the door.

Akira laughed at his mother's antics. Well, what was he going to do since he was born in a family of comedians?

Showering and getting ready for school, Akira wondered how the school was going to be like. Was it going to be as crappy as he heard it would be? Or was it going to be a fun place for him to study and improve on his performance skills? But then again, how fun could a school called 'Shujin' be? It literally meant 'Prison' in English!

Akira shook his head. He shouldn't just judge a school based on its name, after all.

* * *

 _Back to the present..._

Akira remembered that at the school, he met quite a couple of really nice students, but the ones who had a bigger impression on him were two students. The first one was a girl from his class, Ann Takamaki. Also a student from 2-D, he heard that Ann came into this school studying to be a model and an actress.

The second one was Ryuji Sakamoto, a student from 2-E. He and Ann were childhood friends. However, now that Akira thought about it, he never asked Ryuji how he came into this school. One needed to have some sort of performing skills to enter the school, such as dancing, singing, acting and such. Either that, or they have skills relating to the media such as designing, composing, filming and directing.

Somehow, he couldn't see Ryuji being in any of those categories...

"So, my boy! Which role did you get in the game?" Mr Kurusu asked Akira, snapping him out of his daze.

"Erm, I'm actually not too sure. All of us who auditioned know the Joker's personality, but we don't really know anyone else's. Atlus is really keeping it under wraps..." Akira replied as he continuously flipped through the letter, only to come to a pause at the part in which his role in the game was stated.

Akira stared at the words through his glasses in shock before he blinked once, and shrieked.

"Th-th-the Protagonist?!"

His mother's eyes sparkled in excitement while his father began to grin. "Really? Let me see it!"

As Mr Kurusu snatched the letter from his son, Akira was still in a state of shock. "B-But the Protagonist is a really serious character..."

"Oh really, now?" Mr Kurusu gave Akira a smirk before he handed the letter back to him. "Read the fine print, sonny."

Confused, the black-haired boy gingerly took the letter back from his father, which made a snall crinkling noise. Looking at the bottom of the letter, he read it out aloud.

"The Protagonist's personality is up to your interpretation..."

A grin similar to that of his father's grew on his face.

* * *

"Hey, Akira!"

Recognising the voice, Akira looked up to see Ann looking at him, wanting to speak to him.

The two of them were in class. Classes for them had just ended, and Akira was just packing his notes into his bag.

"Oh, hey Ann! What's up?"

Ann Takamaki was a rather tall and beautiful girl with blond wavy hair let down and curled over her shoulders. Her blond hair and blue eyes were a unique touch to the class since she was the only Caucasian in the school.

"I'm going over to Student Lounge 1 now, so I can't walk to the station with you and Ryu today, sorry!"

Akira was confused. "Huh? You're going to Student Lounge 1 too?"

"… Wait a minute! You got a role in Persona 5 too?!"

"Yeah! I got the role of the Protagonist!"

Ann stared at him before she burst out laughing. "Wait, you of all people are playing as the serious Protagonist? That's just...!"

"Oh my god, imagine me being like..." Akira complained in his usual hilarious way before he put on the most stoic and bored face he could ever imagine, causing Ann to laugh even harder than before.

"Stop, stop! I'm going to die of laughter at this rate!"

"Alright, alright," Akira smiled at Ann's reaction before he lifted his bag and added, "Let's go to the Student Lounge, shall we?"

As the two students stepped out of the classroom, Akira asked Ann, "So, which role did you get?"

"I got Panther. Not sure what type of character she is, but based on the name, she seems like a flirty type of character..."

Akira saw a hint of sorrow sweep past Ann's face, and he understood why. Ann was the only Caucasian in the school, and a model at that. Thus, she was bullied by some of the students in school and sometimes called some of the worst names Akira could ever think about using on a girl.

But maybe there was one thing he could say that would cheer her up, but get on her nerves at the same time...

Akira winked at her before he snapped his fingers at her and sang, "... Eyy! Sexy lady!"

Ann looked at him in surprise before her expression turned into one of exasperation. "Akira, if you don't stop, I'm going to smack you!"

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry!" Akira cackled madly at Ann's reaction, but was slightly heartened to see that Ann seemed to have cheered up a little.

At that moment, the two of them looked up. "Oh, we've arrived. Let's go in!"

Akira nodded as he pushed open the door and stepped into the room...

* * *

Akira and Ann sat in the comfortable beanbag chairs in the student lounge as they waited for the rest of the main cast of Persona 5 to arrive. Ann blew her cheeks up as she stared at her phone for a moment before she groaned and flopped her phone down once more. "We're half an hour early..."

Akira shrugged. "I guess that means we have some time to do some stuff. Hey, want to see me do a stand-up comedy skit?"

"Sure... but hey, the Student Lounge is actually pretty amazing! I've never been here before," Ann smiled back as she fished up her phone once more and snapped a selfie with it.

The Student Lounge was a place where students get to book to relax after classes, and consisted of a cube-table, beanbag chairs, a fridge full of snacks, a whiteboard, a bookshelf and other decorative items. It was pretty simple, but even simple decoration could brighten up a place easily.

Akira shook his head, remembering how Ann was a bit of a social media addict. However, Ann quickly shut her phone off and looked at Akira. "So, you said you wanted to do a stand-up comedy skit?"

Akira nodded before he stood up. He took a deep breath.

"So there was one time, when my mum actually allowed me to-" He said in his comedian demeanour.

SLAM!

The door slammed open, interrupting Akira and causing Ann to jump. Akira quickly turned to the door and saw a lean delinquent-looking male walk in with a slight swagger in his stance. Ann raised an eyebrow in shock.

"Huh... I didn't know the delinquent of the school would actually be acting in Persona 5 too..."

The male, who had slightly messy hair covering his left eye, looked at Ann and smirked. "Oh, I didn't know the sexy model was here too."

Akira looked at him and cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "Who's this?"

Hearing Akira's voice, the male looked up at him. "So, the transfer student's here too, huh?"

Ann cleared her throat before she introduced hesitantly, "Well... he's Ryuji's classmate. Also a student from 2-E... though he's a year older than us because of his grades..."

The guy groaned and rolled his eyes as he threw his bag to the side and placed his hands in his pockets. "Did that story seriously spread that fast? God damn it..."

Seeing as the guy seemed like a bad boy, Akira wondered how he would react when he pulled a hand out and grinned, "Hey, I'm Akira Kurusu! A pleasure to meet you!"

Looking at Akira's hand, he reached out to shake it...

... Only to hear a big farting noise once he gripped his hand, causing the guy to suddenly tense up.

Akira began to chuckle while Ann giggled madly. "The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick!" Akira laughed as he gave the blue-haired guy a wink. "It's always funny!"

The man stared at Akira for a moment with a straight face before he started laughing too. "Come on, dude! That's so lame!"

As he removed his hand from Akira's, he gave him a nod and introduced himself. "Yusuke Kitagawa. Nice t' meetcha! Oh, by the way..."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Yusuke pulled out a box of pocky and handed it to Akira. "Want one?"

* * *

"Maaaaaan! It's pretty god damn boring here..." Akira heard Yusuke groan for probably the fifth time.

"Will you shut up, Yusuke? We are ALL bored too, you know," Ann sighed.

"At least you still have your phone?! Freaking Shibata confiscated mine!"

"Serves you right for using your phone in class..." Ann shook her head before she looked up and asked, "By the way, where's Ryuji? Aren't the two of you in the same class? I just received a message from him telling me that he was in the cast too!"

Yusuke looked at the blue-eyes girl like she just asked him a dumb question. "You know very well that I ditch the classes I hate and only come to school just because of that 50% attendance policy."

Ann groaned once again and turned back to stare at her phone. Suddenly, Akira felt a huge presence coming towards their room and briefly prepared himself for anything shocking...

"BANG!"

"GYAAHH!"

"... WAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The door suddenly banged open with the loudest sound anyone could imagine, causing Ann and Yusuke to freak out and turn towards the door. However, what caused Akira to burst out in mad laughter was when Yusuke suddenly gave a loud, high-pitched scream. Yusuke yelled at him, "Stop laughing at me, damn it!"

"Whaddup, guys! Is this the place for the Persona 5 cast meeting?" The brown-haired girl with a spunky attitude grinned at them as she looked at them with her determined red eyes. Akira could just notice the braid hairband on her head.

Yusuke was the first to react. "… Fuck, Makoto Niijima's here."

The girl, Makoto, glared at Yusuke, causing him to flinch. "Mind your manners, Yusuke. I'm your Senpai!"

He huffed in irritation. "We're the same age, damn it! Anyways, you told us to treat you like how we would to others, so how am I in the wrong?"

"Then you should do something about that rude attitude of yours, simple as that!" she grinned back, causing Yusuke to slam his head on the table.

"I swear to god, if Makoto Niijima is gonna be acting with us, I'm gonna fucking cry..."

Ann and Akira were confused, but Ann was the first to speak up. "Um... what exactly is wrong about Makoto?"

"She's scary, god damn it!"

"Wait, you're scared of... what...?!"

While Ann began laughing hysterically at Yusuke, Akira analysed Makoto's outfit and movements. She seemed like the sporty, tomboyish type of girl who was pretty loud.

At that moment, Makoto noticed Akira and smiled. "Ah! You're the new kid in the block, aren't you? What's your name?"

He introduced himself with a smile "Akira Kurusu."

Makoto suddenly looked as if she were in deep thought before she snapped her fingers. "Oh! The Kurusu Comedians! You're part of the family?"

"Yeah! I'm from 2-D! Nice to meet you, Makoto-Senpai!"

"Just call me Makoto! I'm from Class 3-C! Nice to meet you too, Akira!" Makoto nodded as she grabbed his hand and gave him a firm handshake...

And another loud fart came blasting throughout the room, causing Yusuke to guffaw and Ann to giggle madly. Makoto had a confused look on her face until Akira revealed the whoopee cushion in his hand with a huge smile plastered on his face.

Makoto stared at him with an exasperated face. "You..."

Yusuke's smile vanished instantly. "Oh, shit..."

However, she just laughed boisterously and slapped Akira's back, remarking, "Damn, I like you already, sire! Tell me more about yourself!"

* * *

"Um... Hi! is there anyone inside?"

The group instantly turned to the door to see a small-sized, bespectacled orange-haired girl standing at the doorway, seemingly hiding shyly behind the door.

"Oh! Are you in the Persona 5 cast too?" Makoto asked cheerily.

"Um... yeah..."

"Come on in!" Ann smiled happily. "It's great that this place isn't going to be a total sausage fest!"

Yusuke frowned. "The hell's that supposed to mean, Ann? There are more girls than guys here now!"

The petite girl stepped into the room. It was then when Akira noticed the headphones around her neck, and the fact that she was wearing the proper school uniform, unlike the rest of the students in the room. Ann had modified her uniform such that she wore a hoodie instead of her uniform's top, and red stockings with brown boots instead of the usual school shoes. Yusuke wore a yellow singlet, sneakers and his blazer tied around his waist. Makoto wore the female school uniform normally, but she had a vest instead of a blazer on, and he could see a pair of tight black shorts that reached up to just above her knees. Heck, even Akira himself was wearing his blazer open!

It looks like this school doesn't even care about dress code...

The girl stuttered for a moment before she quickly bowed towards them, "I... I'm Futaba Sakura from 1-D, playing as Oracle... or Navi, if you prefer. Nice to meet you all!"

"Sweet, we have a Kouhai here, guys!" Makoto cheered before she introduced herself. "I'm Makoto Nijima! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Ann Takamaki!" Ann smiled back at Futaba before pointing out, "Hey, we haven't really introduced our roles, have we?"

"No," Yusuke replied bluntly as he stared at her with a look that said, "Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Akira pipped in. "Well, we can always do that after everyone's arrived, no?"

"That's actually pretty true..."

Suddenly, Futaba walked towards Akira. "H-Hey, you came in just two weeks ago with the rest of the year ones, right?"

Akira nodded. "Yeah! What about it?"

"Well, then I hope we get along!" Futaba smiled shyly as she lifted her hand out towards him.

Akira took it gently and shook it with a similar soft smile. Seeing her soft demeanour, he didn't want to scare her with that trick, after all.

* * *

"So there are only three people left, right?" Ann counted. "Since Morgana's voice actress will be recording in the studios instead..."

"Mm-hm. I wonder what the personalities of our characters are, though!" Makoto added.

"I swear, you're always so happy-go-lucky..." Yusuke groaned.

"Hello!"

"Another girl?" The blue-haired male turned to the door. "Hoo, boy! This may end up being a great time!"

Futaba suddenly muttered softly, "Yusuke-Senpai, what are you thinking, exactly...?"

"... Haru! Oh my god, you're in Persona 5 too?!" Ann gasped in surprise when she saw the curly-haired girl step into the office before she squealed and pounced over to hug her. "OMG, OMG, OMG!"

"Goodness, Ann-chan! Calm down!" Haru giggled before gently wrenching herself free from her frenzied friend's grasp.

"Ooh, it's the Designer Genius!" Makoto grinned, which caught Haru's attention.

"Makoto-san? You're here too?"

"Let me introduce her to you guys!" the red eyed girl stood up as she gestured to Haru. "This is Haru Okumura from 3-C, the genius in Clothing Design in this school!"

Haru giggled once more as a slight blush rose on her cheeks. "Geez, Makoto-san, you flatter me!"

Then she turned to Akira. "Oh, hello. Are you the new student? Nice to meet you!"

Akira smiled back as he stretched his hand out, "Hello. I'm Akira Kurusu. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

As usual, a farting sound echoed across the room once more, earning loud laughters from Yusuke and Makoto, and stares of disbelief and bewilderment from Futaba. Ann simply smiled and shook her head.

However, Haru just laughed and replied, "That's immature..."

What she didn't know was that her simple remark had driven Akira into a corner drawing circles as he sobbed about how he did not get the reaction that he had wanted from her.

* * *

"Two more people left... where the heck is Ryuji?" Ann sighed as she scrolled through her phone for new messages.

"That guy's late for like, 15 minutes..." Yusuke added as he shoved the last pocky stick into his mouth. "... Crap, I've finished it all already?"

"You're one to talk," Makoto snickered.

"Well, hey! At least I arrived early today!"

SLAM!

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! I'm late! I'm late-WARGH!"

CRASH!

Upon hearing the sudden loud commotion, Akira turned to see his friend sprawled all over the floor with a ton of papers and books scattered all around him. But something about him seemed really off today...

"Ugh... seriously...?" the blond-haired boy groaned in a soft manner as he pushed up his spectacles and began picking up his research papers.

Concerned, Akira picked up the papers and handed them to him. "Ryuji, are you okay?"

He smiled back and nodded, "Aha, yeah. thanks Akira-san!"

However, Ann was staring at Ryuji as if he had grown four arms. "Ryuji... did you just... bleach your hair...?!"

He laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his forehead, "Well, I was asked to bleach my hair for my role, so..."

Yusuke snorted in amusement. "So the Well-Mannered Class Genius finally did something out of his demeanour, huh..."

Ryuji turned to his classmate and pouted. "Stop teasing me about that, Yusuke!"

Akira had to admit, Yusuke was right. Ryuji's appearance was literally like that of a good boy: properly-worn school uniform, glasses and always carrying books around him. Even his diligence, sweet and nerdy personality, and book-smartness was known all over school. The only thing was that...

"Heyo, Ryuji!" Makoto smirked as she gave him a noogie before laughing madly. "Nice blond hair you've got there!"

"Ow... w-will you please stop that, Makoto-Senpai...?"

He was pretty darn awkward around everyone else!

It was at that moment when Haru suddenly swooped up on him and observed his hair with a slight frown on her face, causing Ryuji to sweat and ask, "Um... Haru-Senpai...?"

"... Ryuji. Did you bleach this by yourself?"

He laughed awkwardly. "Y-yeah."

She slowly nodded. "Not too bad for first try, but not good enough to stand in front of a camera. Is it okay if you stay back for a moment for my hairstylist partner to smoothen the colours out?"

Akira could see the stumped look on Ryuji's face. "Uh... what?"

As the conversation between the two of them continued, Akira picked up another pile of research papers and was about to hand them back to Ryuji when he noticed something on the covers of one file.

"... Arsene Lupin? William Kidd? Ishikawa Goemon?" Then he turned to his awkward friend and went, "... What?"

"I was asked by the studios to do some research about these characters since I'm in the research sector of the media," Ryuji replied as he took the papers from Akira and smiled back at him. "By the way, thank you so much!"

It was as if many things don't really faze that boy in a negative way...

Ann looked at Ryuji in surprise. "You are in the research sector? You never told us anything about that! Why am I not surprised that you're studying research skills, though..."

"Well, hey! Don't look down on people like us!" Ryuji argued as he put on a small pout. "It's exactly because some of the drama programmes have been handing out false information about how the world works, that's why it needs researchers like us to make things accurate and plausible!"

"Alright, alright. Don't need to go on and on about defending your job, kiddo," Yusuke sniggered, earning him a small sigh from Ryuji.

Suddenly, Haru stood up once more as she pulled out a file. "Oh, right! The studios wanted me to design some clothing for the cast when the characters go Shadow-hunting! I did quite a couple of drafts, but here are the ones approved by Atlus... I couldn't really agree with the design for one of the outfits, though."

Haru took out a pile of papers with colourful sketches on them before handing them out.

Ann snatched up the sketch with the Protagonist's concept outfit which was labeled, 'Joker'. "Whoa, Akira, you're the Protagonist, right? Your outfit's pretty cool..."

But that wasn't what Akira was looking at. He was staring at the code name of his character.

Futaba giggled, "Joker, huh... how befitting of you."

"A joker being 'Joker'..." Makoto snorted at that pun.

Akira chuckled as he continued, "Well then, jokes on you all, because I'm a joker who's just joking and is going to become the 'Joker'."

Yusuke groaned in exasperation. "Please stop, that's just bad..."

Deciding to leave Haru's design sheets aside first, they introduced themselves to one another.

Makoto began with her upbeat voice. "What's up, everyone! I'm Makoto Niijima from 3-C! I play as Queen!"

Haru nodded at them in her mature way. "I'm Haru Okumura, also from 3-C. I play as Noir."

"Hello, I'm Ann Takamaki from 2-D, and I play as the Panther!"

"Yusuke Kitagawa, 2-E. I'm Fox."

"I-I'm Futaba Sakura from 1-D and I play as Oracle! Nice to meet all of you!"

"Hey guys! I'm Ryuji Sakamoto from 2-E, and I play as Skull."

"I'm Akira Kurusu from 2-D, and I play as the Joker!" Akira grinned cheerfully as he brought his fingers to his cheeks in a cheeky manner.

Ann giggled slightly, "Um... Akira? No more Joker puns, please..."

However, Akira wriggled an eyebrow at her. "Did you mean... Joker jokes?"

Yusuke face-palmed. "I swear, I'm probably gonna die sooner or later at this rate..."

"So I see that you all have met each other," a female voice suddenly said as someone stepped into the room, causing the entire group to turn towards the teacher standing at the door.

Akira was shocked to see who it was at the door!

"Kawakami-Sensei?!"

Why was his form teacher here?!

Ann was surprised too. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

The female teacher with the black wavy hair shrugged with a smile, "Duh, I'm here to supervise you all in your filming for Persona 5. Didn't you know that there will always be a teacher to supervise all of you each day whenever you guys meet up for any reason that's got to do with the game?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes and tilted his chair backwards, sitting in a reclining pose as he draped one arm on the back of his seat. "Fuck. Didn't know there will be teachers here."

Ryuji slapped his classmate on his arm. "Yusuke, language!"

"… And now the Bumbling Genius is trying to get me to stop swearing. Fan-fucking-tastic."

Kawakami sighed before she turned to Yusuke and said, "Kitagawa, if you continue to let your mouth run like that, I'll have to send you to detention. You know that, don't you?"

Yusuke turned away, irritated. "Tch."

"Anyways", she said as she turned to the table and slammed an entire pile of files on top of it, "Here are all of your scripts. The file for the overview of the story is the top one."

"Holy cow, Kawakami-Sensei. I didn't know you were that buff!" Makoto giggled as she searched through the pile and pulled out the script labeled 'Queen'.

Yet as everyone shuffled through the pile, no one knew that starting from then on, the times that they were going to spend together will become the craziest times of their lives that they will ever experience…


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Please do note that while some parts will be full of random jokes, there will also be certain serious parts, such as this chapter._

 _WARNING: There will be certain sensitive issues mentioned here such as bullying, racial issues and such, especially since this is the beginning of Ann's arc. If you are sensitive to these types of topics, it is not recommended for you to read this chapter. Hence, proceed with caution. However, just in case you guys want to know, the beginning of this chapter mentions nothing about these sensitive issues, thus you should be able to safely read the first part until you see the next line separating the different segments of this chapter._

 _If you would like to tell me that I have made a mistake, or if you do not agree with the way I portray certain issues and would like to voice out your opinion, please private message me instead of using the review box, okay?_

 _WARNING: Slight spoiler alert for the 5th Palace._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"You've got to be shitting me, right?!" Yusuke breathed out in horror as he flipped through his script. "What kind of art weirdo am I acting as?!"

"Lady-like and all, huh, this Queen character? And she's the student council president too?" Makoto murmured as she skimmed through her own before she snorted in amusement, "I'm not any of those, as much as I know."

Ann nodded. "Well, mine isn't too bad, though... I can actually empathise with Panther."

Haru frowned slightly. "Poor Noir, though... I can't imagine how life would be like if my father's dead..."

Meanwhile, Akira was sniggering at a couple of his lines. "'Honey, I'm home' to Crow? 'There are too many dudes' to Fox? I'm going to enjoy this so much..."

In response, Yusuke turned to the black-haired boy and grinned while trying to hide his irritation as he ripped a bag of marshmallows open, "Do you want me to dress as a woman then, Akira Kurusu?"

"Yeah. A sexy blue dress and some heels would be nice!"

A marshmallow flew in the air, and Akira quickly caught it in his mouth. He started clapping his hands together and barking like a sea lion, causing the rest to burst out in hysterical laughter.

Futaba was giggling madly as she wiped tears away from her eyes. "Oh my goodness, Akira-Senpai!"

Kawakami laughed for a moment before she added, "By the way, feel free to edit the script as you like, but they still have to adhere to the personalities of your characters. Understand?"

They all nodded, except for Yusuke who shoved three marshmallows into his mouth. Ann stared at him in shock. "Haven't you already eaten a box of pocky? Why do you still have a bag of marshmallows?"

"Why not?"

Ryuji winced at the amount of sugar there was. "That's... really unhealthy, you know. I know you have a great metabolism and all, but you shouldn't be working your pancreas so much that your insulin just gives up on you..."

Yusuke bobbed his head from side to side. "Blah, blah, yada yada. I don't even know what kind of Science crap you're talkin' about, Sakamoto."

Futaba had a sad pout on her face. "Yusuke-Senpai, Ryuji-Senpai was just being worried about you…"

However, Makoto suddenly walked straight up to him and grinned before snatching the bag away from him.

"Oi-!"

"What did I tell you about the candy? This sweetie gonna give you diabetes! No!"

Yusuke groaned and flopped himself against the back of his chair once more. "Why can't I be Skull instead, man?! That type of character's someone I can relate to!"

Ryuji added softly, "Well, I'd prefer to be Fox too... he seems much more similar to me compared to Skull."

Ann began to burst into a fit of giggles. "You don't mind asking Joker if you have to dress as a woman?"

"Honestly, I don't really mind."

Makoto squinted at him. "... Oh god, you really are a weird dude."

"Hey, no changing of scripts, okay? There is a reason as to why you guys have received these roles."

Haru looked at the script on the table. "So the person who isn't here yet is Crow. Where is he?"

Ms Kawakami replied, "LoA. Our little VIP is taking a Leave of Absence since he's out to get an award again."

"I see... I wonder who's acting as Crow, though. Probably one of the better students here."

However, their teacher simply placed a finger to her own lips and replied with a smile, "You'll see..."

Makoto's lips curled into a comical frown. "Aw, come on! Can't you at least tell us what course he takes, Kawakami-Sensei?"

"I'm sorry, but it's confidential."

"Hey, now that I think about it," Ann suddenly quipped in, "We don't really know the courses that each of us are taking! How about we introduce what we major in? I major in modelling and acting!"

"I'm pretty sure you guys know that I major in Clothing Design," Haru smiled softly at them.

"I major in Research Studies, though I told you all about it already," Ryuji added with a small shrug.

"I'm in acting and martial arts! I'm working to act as a strong heroine in a movie!" Makoto grinned as she pumped her fist into the air.

"W-well," Futaba wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead as she replied, "I'm in the Music Course. Specifically, composing..."

Akira simply chuckled as he replied, "I'm in the Joker Course!"

Yusuke groaned while the others sniggered. "Please, no more puns..."

"Well, we all know for a fact that it's the Comedy course, so..." Ann then turned to Yusuke. "Well, how about you, Yusuke? I'm interested to know what you major in!"

His delinquent demeanour suddenly seemed to vanish for a moment as he stuttered. "Um... well... I..."

Suddenly, Kawakami stood up again. "Oh. I almost forgot! Okumura, Sakamoto, Sakura, can you three please hand in your designs, research and scores for the game to me now?"

The three of them nodded as they pulled out their stacks of papers. Meanwhile, she turned back to the rest of them and said, "Also, you guys can leave now. I don't think there's anything else we have to discuss. The schedules for acting and meetings are all inside your script files. Alright then, see you guys in a few days time!"

"Ho, yes, it's finally over!" Yusuke stretched in relief before he grabbed his bag from the floor and began walking out. However, as he stepped out of the room and the rest of the students began packing up their things, Kawakami placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You owe me one this time, okay?"

* * *

"Hey, that wasn't so bad! The meeting was actually pretty fun!" Ann remarked happily as the group began to go on their separate ways. She, Akira and Ryuji were heading the same way since they take the same train line back home.

"I still can't believe I have to act as a delinquent," Ryuji sighed. "This is going to be difficult..."

"I got to admit, Hifumi did make your hair look a lot better, though! Your hair colour earlier on was pretty uneven."

"Hifumi-Senpai does specialise in hairstyling, after all..."

"I guess you can say that she's got some 'style'!"

"... Akira, that's just a bad pun. Stop," Ann muttered as she rolled her eyes. However, she suddenly paused and gasped. "Oh, crude! I forgot to take my Literature book that I need for my homework! You guys go on ahead first. I'll see you at the train station!"

Quickly, she sped away towards the other direction, leaving Akira and Ryuji behind.

Ryuji shook his head. "Hey, I think we should just wait for her. We can't let Ann go to the train station on her own just in case something happens."

Akira nodded as the two of them quickly went down the direction that she did. Following Ann, the two turned down a corner when they suddenly saw the blond-haired girl searching through her locker before she pulled out a book and slammed the metal door shut. Ryuji was about to call out to her when suddenly, someone else had already caught her attention.

"Hey, Ann-chan!"

Surprised, the blue-eyed girl turned to the opposite corner of where the two guys were standing, and saw a group of girls standing there. "O-Oh. What is it, Suzui-san?"

Akira was mildly surprised. "Huh? Isn't that Shiho Suzui from my class?"

Ryuji sweat-dropped. "Um... do you not know your classmate, Akira?"

"Well, hey! I've been here for only two weeks, you know!"

The girl named Shiho replied, "Do you want to hang out with us? We're going out to get some crepes! There's a new store next to the train station, so maybe we can just head there before you go home?"

They saw Ann's eyes widening in surprise before they turned a little sad. "Ah, it's okay, I've made plans already."

Shiho looked saddened for a moment before she smiled again, "Aw... that's too bad... Well, see you tomorrow, then!"

As she and the rest of the girls left, Akira and Ryuji walked towards her. Ryuji began, "You know, if you wanted to follow them, you can just go along with them. Don't you always love desserts?"

Akira nodded, "Suzui-san seems like a nice girl too..."

She sighed as she pushed her hair back. "It's okay. It's just... maybe I'm being too paranoid..."

This time, Akira was curious. "Hm? What happened?"

Ryuji glanced at Akira before he moved closer to him and whispered, "I'll tell you later. It's kind of a... sensitive issue to her."

* * *

After saying goodbye to Ann when she left the train, Akira turned to Ryuji with a concerned look on his face. "So what happened to her?"

Somehow, the train was not as crowded as it used to be, probably because it was after peak hours and most of the people were at home.

Ryuji looked around before he asked, "Um, well... you know that some people call Ann names in school because of her looks, right?"

"Yes, I know that. What about it?"

He took a deep breath as he pushed up his glasses. "It was a lot worse back in middle school."

Akira suddenly felt himself tense up, but he wasn't sure why. "And...?"

"Back then, Ann was always bullied by the other students. Specifically, it was the girls who always hung out together in tight cliques. There was one time when they pretended to become friends with her and did really horrible things behind her back, but she only realised what was happening when they finally made her a scapegoat." Ryuji sighed with a small hint of sorrow and pity.

"A... scapegoat?"

He nodded. "Apparently, they framed her for theft. Even though Ann's innocence was later proven through some investigation, that incident was burned at the back of her mind. That's why she doesn't really get into a close relationship with anyone. She's scared that someone would betray her all over again."

Akira brought a hand to his mouth. "Wait, let me get this right. The students hate her just because she's half-Caucasian, and so they framed her for theft just to bully her? But that's just..."

Ryuji shook his head. "No, I doubt that it's only about this social stigma in Japan. Bullying comes from other factors too, such as jealousy, or simply just because you are different in one way or another. I'm pretty sure it was a combination of a couple of factors, but let's get back to Ann's story. That incident wasn't the end of it. Afterwards, everyone else seemed to act nice to her, but Ann was still being ill-treated. No one ever knew who the rest of the culprits were, since she was bullied through the spreading of rumours, pranks and such..."

Akira bit his lip as he felt a strange feeling in him began to grow.

"I wish I could help her back then, since we were in the same school, but I was too much of a coward to do anything..." he sighed as he turned to look out of the window even though it was pitch black. "If only I had done something... then maybe this wouldn't have happen."

"You can't blame yourself - others probably feel the same way as you do."

"I know, it's just..." Ryuji turned to lean against the wall of the subway as a tired look streaked past his face. "I just wish I could've done something to help her. It... It just isn't fair for something like this to happen just because one's different, y-you know?"

However, before Akira could say anything, Ryuji looked back at him and smiled, "But anyways, you're actually really good at lending a listening ear. Thanks for listening to me rant. For some reason, I'm pretty glad that you're not always joking about things."

Akira chuckled, "Hey, I do know when to take things seriously, you know. By the way, you seem to really care about her, Ryuji."

The blond-haired boy nodded. "Of course I do. She's my friend, just like you."

* * *

The clacking of Ann's boots could be heard as she walked down the dimly-lit road towards her home. As she moved further away from the train station, everything that just happened back in school came flooding into her mind like a tidal wave.

 _"Do you want to hang out with us?"_

The words kept ringing in her head like a resounding bell that made Ann's heart race faster every time it repeated. Her heart slowly begun to ache with a strange feeling of sorrow as her legs started to speed up. Shiho's expression at that moment kept appearing in her head, but it slowly became more and more distorted until…

 _"Wanna hang out with us, Takamaki-san?"_

The image of a girl with a red flower hairlip suddenly flashed in her mind, causing Ann to gasp and pause all motion. Ann began panting heavily before she slowly calmed down and started to walk once again.

Why did she have to remember Aiko Nakamura, the girl who became her friend back in middle school and betrayed her afterwards?

Everything started to crash onto her as the road slowly seemed to darken in front of her.

 _"I swear, that girl's probably one of the teacher's bitches."_

 _A desk full of taunts and insults scribbled onto it sat in front of her._

 _"What a slut."_

 _A sharp pain seemed to push itself into her head as someone 'accidentally' tugged at her long hair._

 _"I heard she's a thief! Can you believe it?"_

 _A feeling of coldness surrounded her as water dripped down her clothes and wet hair._

 _"Why not? That girl's a Devil Woman, after all…"_

 _A group of students stood at the side as they whispered to each other while staring at her. She knew that they were talking about her, but she couldn't care less anymore._

Grunting in frustration, Ann shook her head. However, something fell out of her bag, and she picked it up. It was her script. She had been reading it on the train just to get her mind off what just happened, but…

Ann's pace began to slow down as questions began flooding into her brain. Why did Atlus choose her, the only blond-haired and blue-eyed girl in the school, to act as Panther, who was also a half-blood? Why did they accept Haru's design of Panther in the skin-tight and revealing red outfit, but not her preferred design of a more conservative one with the dark-coloured cape and fully covered clothing? Why was Panther's personality sometimes that of a stereotypical person from the West? It was just a stereotype, that doesn't mean it's true! Why was she specifically chosen to be Panther, who was viewed by those who do not really know her as flirtatious or, in a negative vibe, a bitch?

Could it be that…

She could not take it anymore. Panther's predicament and everything that happened to her was too similar to Ann's life. The only difference was probably the sexual harassment and the fact that Panther was a quarter-Caucasian while Ann herself was half-Caucasian. Ann stopped once more as she looked down onto the ground, closed her eyes and gripped her head as laughter began echoing in her ears and darkness seemed to engulf her.

"This feeling… It's like an earthquake."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _The previous chapter was pretty serious, but don't worry: this chapter will be mostly full of random gag as usual, though there will be a few snippets of serious parts! (This chapter is honestly downright wacky...)_

 _We'll be diverting from Ann's storyline a little in this chapter due to the appearance of a new main character, but don't worry - we'll continue with her story the next chapter._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Akira was concerned.

Ann wasn't her usual cheerful self. He noticed it the moment he stepped into class and saw the slight cloudiness in her eyes, as if some thought was weighing her down.

"Hey, Ann, are you okay?"

She quickly nodded with a smile as she tried to shrug it off. "I'm okay! It's just that I'm a little tired from last night. I kinda came home late…"

He knew it wasn't that simple, but Akira also knew that it would be best not to probe her about it. He placed his bag down at his seat which was behind Ann's and said, "Make sure you rest and not get too stressed out, okay?"

Ann smiled and nodded. "Don't worry! I won't strain myself!"

"Strain? But you aren't gravy. How are you going to _strain_ yourself?"

She looked confused for a moment before she gasped, chuckled and face-palmed. "... Oh my god, Akira...!"

Meanwhile, Akira smiled at her expression, glad to know that she had cheered up a little. "Glad to know you're a little more motivated for class."

"KYAAA~! It's him! The Theatre Hero is back...!"

"What the?!" Both Akira and Ann turned to the door in shock upon hearing a couple of girls squealing in excitement to see a guy with brown hair that covered the nape of his neck and big brown eyes enter the class with a confident smile on his face. Seeing him, Ann gasped in surprise.

"Oh my goodness, I didn't know he's back!"

Even though he was a slight distance away, Akira could feel some sort of aura emitted from him that made him feel bewildered. Who was this confident man who gave off this charismatic aura?

One of the girls was looking up at him with sparkly eyes. "We really, really missed you, Goro-chan!"

"Geez, calm down, I've only been away for a couple of weeks," he chuckled in a smooth voice that made the girls swoon all over him.

Akira was dumbfounded. "Um... what's going on, exactly?"

Hearing his voice, the man suddenly turned to him and his eyes brightened up. Waving to him, he called out, "Oh! Kurusu-san! Hey!"

Realising that the guy was calling out to him, Akira was shocked! Who the heck was this guy?! "Huh?! Um, wha-?!"

Still smiling, the brown-eyed boy walked towards him and greeted, "I haven't seen you for so long! How has it been for you?"

Still confused and unable to recognise him, Akira asked bluntly, "Who are you?"

He could've sworn he heard something shatter. Seconds later, an imaginary spotlight seemed to flash onto the man as he kneeled down in a corner with both hands on the floor and looked up at Akira with a betrayed look in his eyes. Akira could see tears forming in his eyes as the man breathed out in agony, "Akira Kurusu, I thought you remembered me..."

"Um, I'm sorry, what?"

Sniffling, the guy stood up and wiped his tears away in a dramatic fashion as he placed a hand over his heart. "Never mind, never mind... The only thing you're hurting, after all, are my feelings which no one cares for..."

Akira could not believe the irony that was happening at that moment. Even though he was a comedian who made everything a joke which some people can't comprehend, right now, everything was all beyond his comprehension!

"I'M SORRY?! What's going on right now?!"

Ann looked at Akira as if he had just said that an elephant had three legs. "You really don't know who he is? But he's so popular! Plus, he said that he knows you!"

Still unable to recognise the guy, Akira squinted for a moment as he analysed the brown-haired boy and big brown eyes. Wait a second… where had he seen this man before…?

"Hang on! Are you… Goro Akechi?!"

Goro gasped in relief in an exaggerated way as he suddenly gave him a huge bear hug. "OMG, you finally recognise me, Akira-kun! Or should I still call you Kurusu-san?!"

Akira stood up in elation at the appearance of his childhood friend. "I can't believe it, after all these years… Holy cow, you've changed so much! You used to be so serious!"

He released him from the hug before giving out a haughty laugh and flipped his hair. "Well, I've let go of my past, and now here I am as the fabulous Theatre Hero! Anyways, I heard that you are Joker in the Persona 5 casting?"

Akira could not believe that this was really his childhood friend. Goro used to be so stoic, and was always lecturing Akira to take things seriously! Whatever happened to him that caused him to become so melodramatic?

Akira grinned back as he placed both index fingers on his cheeks in a cute pose. "Oh, obviously! I am the 'Joker' who cracks jokes all day long, after all!"

Goro snorted in amusement. "Ah… those bad puns of yours never change, do they? I look forward to working with you again then, Joker~"

Ann spun around to stare at him in surprise. "Wait a minute! Work with us? Doesn't that mean you're…?!"

He nodded proudly as he placed a hand on the top of his chest in a flamboyant way. "Oh, yes~! I'm Crow, whose sole interest is seeking the truth~!"

Both Akira and Ann broke down in laughter. Why did Goro not show this side of himself before? The brown-haired boy then sighed for a moment before he remarked, "But wow, time does fly, huh? It's been a couple of years ever since we saw each other!"

"It's like they say: Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana."

Ann placed her face in her hands as she started giggling and mock-crying at the same time. "I swear, that is so dumb, it's actually funny…"

"Well, looks like homeroom's about to begin, so I shall go back to my seat first, yeah?" Goro smiled at them as he proceeded to head towards his desk and sit at his chair when suddenly, a loud airhorn blared throughout the entire classroom, causing him to scream in terror.

Snickering, Akira pointed to the airhorn under Goro's seat which had been triggered by a sensor that he had placed on his chair. "Ha! Gotcha!"

As Ann started cackling with laughter once more, Goro took a deep breath and smiled as a vein popped on his forehead. "Well, you win this time, Akira Kurusu."

* * *

 _After class…_

"You do know that we are going to film the beginning of the second arc first."

"Yes."

"And you do know that Crow hasn't appeared at that moment yet."

"Mm-hm."

"So why are you following us to the studios when you should just go to Drama Club?" Ann asked in confusion as she stared at the brown-eyed boy tagging closely behind her and Akira.

Goro gave her his charming smile. "I need to get my script from Kawakami-Sensei, after all! Plus, for someone who's been in the theatre industry for donkey years, it'll be great for me to actually see a real filming studio. Don't you think so, Lady Ann?"

"L-Lady Ann…?"

He nodded at her. "You are a charming lady, after all. You have a very cute personality."

Akira cringed slightly when he heard what his childhood friend had said. When did Goro become such a playboy?! However, what made it even worse was when Ann actually BLUSHED at that comment he gave her. "Th-thanks…?"

A comedian should be quick and witty about his surroundings, but what was going on? Akira felt as if he was getting more and more dim-witted than before!

"Alright, we're here!" Ann grinned at them as she opened the door, revealing a frustrated Sadayo Kawakami, Ryuji and an elderly man with a grey ponytail, both trying to calm the female teacher down.

The older male was telling her, "Sadayo, calm down! I can easily just postpone the course to another day by talking with the course organiser!"

Ms Kawakami was literally trying to pull her hair out. "But Madarame, that's a really important course for you and some of the other teachers! That's why we wanted to film your part first! Why did that delinquent have to go for detention today, of all days?! … Sakamoto! Stop laughing!"

For some reason, upon hearing that Yusuke had gotten detention, Ryuji had begun laughing and rolling on the floor. Akira walked towards him and asked, "Hey, Ryuji, what's gotten into you…?"

"Do you… do you want to know why he had gotten detention in the first place…?" Ryuji wheezed through his crazy laughter as he pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of what looked like a detention card.

"What happened…?" Ann looked over his phone curiously while Goro headed towards the teacher for his script. "Detention Card. Name of Student: Yusuke Kitagawa. Reason for detention: Opened window and escaped…?!"

Akira read the rest of the reason before he started guffawing, "'He jumped out of the window and ran'…! Wha… ha… HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh... Oh my goodness! Is he okay?!" Ann asked as she did her best to stifle her giggles.

Ryuji nodded as he calmed himself down and wiped the tears from his eyes. "He is okay, alright... but he should've known better than to jump down from the second floor only to land in front of Kamoshida-Sensei! Holy cow, that scene was too funny to take! I don't think I can ever get that scene out of my head..."

Akira wheezed as he tried to calm himself down, only to sound like a dying walrus. "Darn, I wish I was there to see it!"

"Oh! Speaking of teachers, some of them are acting as the villains in the game! Did you know that? Kamoshida-Sensei and Madarame-Sensei included!"

Madarame, the male in the ponytail, smiled and waved at them. "I'm glad we're working together!"

"Wait! Madarame-Sensei ,you're playing as one of the villains in Persona 5?" Ann asked in shock. "But you're one of the nicest teachers in school!"

He laughed heartily, "Apparently, they wanted someone who looked like a 'nice old man', so here I am!"

Ryuji remarked as he finally stood up from the floor, "I see, emphasising on the fact that looks can be deceiving, huh? That's a smart move!"

Kawakami sighed. "Well... since we can't film Madarame's scenes without Kitagawa around, we'll just have to practice your scenes first, I guess. We've already finished filming Mr Madarame's individual scenes, so at least we already have some things done."

* * *

"Okay! So before we start filming, we need to see how you guys act first, is that alright?" The director asked them as he wielded a clapper board in his hands.

"... Whoa. Ryuji, you don't have your usual smart-kid appearance!" Ann grinned at him and burst out laughing as he walked out of the changing room with his blazer open and a t-shirt inside instead. She had her hair up in twintails since she wanted to get in-character for Panther's role.

Ryuji yelled back as he placed his bag in the corner, "Stop laughing at me...!"

Suddenly, Goro stood up from his seat. "Hey, Kurusu-san, I'll be heading off first, okay? Don't miss me too much, dear!"

Akira rolled his eyes as he said in a sarcastic tone, "Bye, Akechi, I love you."

Goro smiled back and blew him a kiss as he sashayed out of the door. "Bye, sweetheart! I love you too!"

"Pfft-hahahahaha...!" Ann started laughing at the scene in front of her while Akira could only stare back at the door, shocked at how much his friend had changed.

* * *

Ryuji flashed Akira a grin as he nodded. "I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers'. I'll come talk if I see you around. Don't ignore me, alright?"

Akira gave a nod. Acknowledging this, Ryuji replied before walking off scene, "See ya."

"And cut! Good take!"

Upon hearing the director's voice of approval, he sighed in relief and stretched. "Oh my goodness, finally! I thought this was never going to end..."

"Judging by the number of no-good shots you had when you tried to walk like a delinquent..." Ann snickered.

Akira added with a snigger, "I thought I was the comedian here, but here you are, waddling around like someone trying to get into a commercial..."

Ryuji pouted as he grabbed his glasses and placed them back on. "Come on, don't be so mean to me! You of all people should know that I'm as blind as a bat without my glasses!"

"Is that why you nearly smashed into a wall earlier on?!"

Ann remarked, "But whoa, your aura totally changed when you were acting as Skull. You were so cool!"

The blond-haired boy's eyes sparkled. "Really?"

Akira nodded. "You are the skull of the group, after all."

A soft smile grew on his face. "Hehe, that's actually pretty sweet, even though it was a pun. Thanks guys!"

Akira didn't mention anything, but without his Skull personality, Ryuji was like an innocent kid. Not that he would ever mention it, though. People would stare at him weirdly if he did.

But if that was the case, if Goro was here, he would probably just outright tell Ryuji that. Akira had noticed that Goro wasn't afraid to voice his honest opinions anymore, unlike back then when they collaborated together for an act, and that he was actually pretty sincere when he was complimenting Ann earlier on.

"Alright! Guess I'd better go get changed out of the uniform! You guys can wait for me outside," he told them as he headed back inside the changing room.

As they waited for Ryuji to get changed, Ann turned to Akira. "Hey, I'm actually kinda curious. How did you and Akechi meet in the first place?"

He smiled in nostalgia. "Well, it was about seven years back. Akechi-kun and I were called up to be casted in a theatre play. I'll let you guess what it was."

"What? There are so many plays out there! Come on, at least tell me what genre it was!"

"Alright, alright, I shan't be so secretive. It was actually-"

"Alright, I'm done!" Ryuji suddenly announced as he walked towards them. Ann looked at his in bewilderment.

"Wait, what? Why did you completely change out of your school uniform?"

The brown-eyed boy looked at his t-shirt and shorts and laughed awkwardly, "Well... I need to go help out at my dad's store, after all. It's kind of like my part-time job, you know?"

"... So you're a mild-mannered and filial son who just so happens to top the entire cohort in academics too?!"

Akira nodded in agreement. "Whoa... role model."

Ryuji looked at them in exasperation. "Hey, don't tease me like that! I just act like I want to!"

Ann giggled before she flipped over to her schedule once more. "Right, so the next scene we'll be filming is probably with Yusuke and Mr Madarame..."

He nodded. "Yeah! And we'd probably be filming the Palace scenes too, since we're starting to be behind time."

"The Palace scenes, huh..."

It was then when Akira noticed the faraway look that casted over Ann's eyes before it went away again.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Yusuke sighed in boredom as he tapped on his desk after completing his homework that Kamoshida had forced upon him. The clock on the wall ticked the time passing, making Yusuke's patience begin to run out.

"You should have known better than to jump out of the window, Yusuke," Kamoshida sighed from the front of the class.

The bad boy shrugged back, "Functions was too boring for me."

"It is indeed boring, but you failed every test on that topic, including re-tests..."

"You sound like you're trying to lecture me, but that hair of yours won't bring you to places."

Kamoshida grunted in displeasure. "It wasn't like I wanted this hairstyle in the first place... by the way, why were you late for homeroom this morning too?"

Yusuke replied nonchalantly, "I'm not late, I'm just really early for tomorrow."

His teacher groaned and rolled his eyes at Yusuke's reply.

A few minutes passed again. Seeing that Yusuke was acting bored, Kamoshida decided to ask him a question.

"So, you haven't told your friends about the main course that you were taking in school."

"… They don't need to know."

Suddenly, the bell rang, ending Yusuke's detention period. He dragged his bag roughly and threw it onto his shoulders before he stepped out, but not before walking up to the teacher and saying with a hint of malice,

"Listen up, Kamoshida, I won't just listen to you just because you used to be an army commander."

Then he stalked off. Kamoshida looked at his vanishing figure before he breathed out a sigh of fatigue.

"What am I going to do about that boy..."


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't Persona 5!_

 _Warning: There's coarse language involved, courtesy of Yusuke Kitagawa in this AU._

 _For those who are wondering why there are still only 4 chapters in this update, it's because I have combined chapter 1 and 2 together!_

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"Jumped out of the window and ran… pfft!" Makoto sniggered as Yusuke entered the studios.

He sent a glare towards. "What the hell are you doing here, Niijima? You aren't supposed to be here. Your scenes are next week!"

Yusuke had entered the studios as he and some of the other actors were going to film a couple of scenes with Madarame before he had to leave for the Teacher's Course in about a week. However, he was still feeling a little peeved. Why did Madarame have to take up that course?! Now they had to rush through things, and he didn't have time to rest after training from his own club activity in the school!

Makoto stood up from her seat and waggled a finger at him. "Don't talk like that to your Senpai, Yusuke! Plus, I'm just here to check how things are going on here."

Yusuke rolled his eyes as he bit into a honey biscuit stick. "Whoa, whoa. Busybody. Why am I not surprised?"

"Aw, come on, Yusuke! Eating so much sweet foods again? You're either going to have tooth decay or diabetes at this rate."

"Aw, shut up, Makoto-Senpai."

The red-eyed girl pouted. "Come on! You don't have to be so cold, do ya?!"

Suddenly, Kawakami came stomping towards him in frustration. "Hey, Kitagawa! Can you go and get changed instead of hitting on Niijima?! We are already behind schedule!"

Yusuke dashed towards the last changing room cubical, but not before turning to Makoto and making a retching sound.

* * *

"… Are you fucking kidding me."

Akira was chuckling madly along with the others as Yusuke stared at his new appearance in horror. Yusuke ran his fingers down his slicked hair with a look of disbelief on his face as he shook his head in denial.

"Wh… what kind of fucking… what kind of appearance is this?! I look like a fuckboy!"

"Well, I guess you do look pretty sleek and smart…" Ryuji remarked before he ended up bursting out laughing.

Yusuke groaned in exasperation as he flopped over his chair. "Ugh! Life sucks, fuck a duck! I look like I'm going for some ballroom function or something…"

"Oi! No bestiality!"

Ann giggled as she looked at his neat uniform. "Come on, Yusuke! You do look pretty good, you know! I never knew you were such a pretty boy!"

"Usually, I'd love to hear praises. But today, I don't even know anymore, man…"

Akira tossed a can of soda to him. "Come on, have some soda! Don't bottle it all inside and let it bubble!"

Yusuke sighed as he caught the soda and opened the can. "Geez, what a motivator… but thanks for the soda. How did you know that I like the cherry and cream flavour, though?"

He shrugged back with a smile. "I just took the sweetest one inside the vending machine since we all know that you have a sweet tooth."

Makoto had a small frown of disapproval on her face. "Come on, Akira, don't encourage him to continue with that diet of his..."

The blue-haired boy chuckled back. "Yeah, yeah. For someone who loves food too, you're one to talk."

"Hey! At least it's meat and not sweets!"

"Guys! We're about to start filming!" Ms Kawakami yelled as she entered the area outside the changing rooms. "Have you remembered your lines for that scene?"

The group nodded. Yusuke gulped down the entire can before crushing the metal container and tossing it into the trash can. "Well, let's get this shit started."

However, as they walked towards the set, Makoto was staring at him in shock. "Oh... Oh my god. Yusuke, when did you have such good posture?!"

He looked back at her in confusion. "Hah? Whaddya mean? I can't possibly walk like some delinquent in this, can I?"

"No! As in... your posture and the way you stand is even better than Ann's! It's as if you were some sort of choirboy or dancer or something!"

Yusuke had a weirded-out look on his face. "Um... are you trying to compliment me, or are you shitting on me?"

"No, I'm not being sarcastic! I'm serious!"

"Are you guys ready? We need to finish filming these scenes in three hours, so minimise no-good shots! You get it?"

The group nodded as they quickly scooted over to their places.

* * *

"... I never knew you were such a Mama's boy, though... pfft!"

Annoyed, Ryuji let out a whiny, "What is it?!"

Yusuke sniggered as he imitated him, "'What the eff, man!' Pfft! So you can swear every single other vulgar word on the script but not 'fuck'?"

He screamed back at him in a comical way, "NO! I'm not going to say that word, ever! My mum will kill me if she finds out!"

"Come on, Yusuke," Ann chipped in with a small giggle, "Ryuji's just trying to be well-mannered..."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "His role is that of a Vulgar Boy, Ann..."

"Well, I guess you can say he's not really on the roll yet!"

"... Kurusu?"

"Yes?"

"Get out."

Was that the sound of shattering when Yusuke said that? Both Ann and Ryuji could have sworn that there was the sound of breaking porcelain. However, they started laughing when Akira gave Yusuke teary puppy-dog eyes, causing him to flinch.

"You... you want me to leave, Yusuke-kun...?"

"Uh... Oh god, please stop that. That's freaking disgusting."

Sniffling, he asked, "I thought you were my good friend, Yusuke-kun! How can you be so mean to me...?"

"UM." The blue-haired boy was at a loss for words for a moment before he brought a hand to his face. "Why are you like a second Theatre Hero..."

"Well, Akechi-kun and I did act together in a play back when we were kids!" Akira laughed. "He was so serious back then, while I was always acting all dramatic and comedic whenever I talked to him just to get on his nerves! Who would've thought he would grow up to be even more dramatic than me..."

"Akechi-san being serious...?" Ann parroted before she giggled madly.

Meanwhile, Ryuji stared at the plush toy in his hand and sighed. "I still can't believe that we're going to use this plush toy as Morgana, though..."

"Well... It's not like we can get a real-life one in this world."

At this moment, Ms Kawakami stepped out. "Hey, guys! Before you all leave, we need to check and see if the Palace costumes fit you! So can you stay back for a moment?"

Surprised, the group headed back to the set, where they saw all of their costumes hanging on the clothes hangers, causing them to gasp in surprise. Makoto was the first to react as she picked up her ninja-like outfit that came with a metal mask and a pair of fake tekko which she had to use as weapons when filming. "Wh-whoa, this looks really detailed! That's awesome!"

"Not bad, not bad at all," Akira smirked as he peered at his own sleek and classy outfit which had a mask and a faux knife.

Meanwhile, Yusuke lifted up his outfit which came with a Kitsune mask and a katana as he grimaced, "... The hell is this?"

"Um... am I supposed to be bludgeoning shadows to death with this...?" Ryuji asked awkwardly as he picked up the bludgeon from his outfit which also had a mask that looked like a human's skull. "Ugh... my personality barely even fits this outfit..."

"Like we do?! Just look at mine!" Yusuke yelled back as he showed the blond-haired boy his outfit which had a high collar that looked like an aristocrat's.

Suddenly, a girl with a feathered hat and black mask stepped out of the changing room. "Actually, appearance-wise, it really suits all of you."

"Oh, Haru! You look great!" Ann grinned when she saw what Haru was wearing. "I love that hat!"

She smiled back. "Thanks! I thought that Noir should have a design like this, based on the storyline! Hey, go get changed! Maybe we can take a group shot after this?"

Akira frowned a little. "Aw... but Oracle and Crow aren't here..."

"Oh, right... then just change and see if the clothing fits, okay?"

* * *

Ann stared at herself in the mirror, decked out in her skimpy, skin-tight, red spandex suit which had a cat tail attached to it. On her face was the Panther's mask and she held the whip in her hand. She knew that anyone would say she looked really good in it, but Ann wasn't happy about it.

Ann knew that Haru's original design for her was one with a reddish-black spandex suit that covered everything on her and a dark red cape to match. Plus, the weapons were supposed to be crossbows, not whips. It suited Panther's story pretty well, so why did the company have to make such a huge irony about her outfit?

Naturally, as a student studying modelling, Ann didn't mind wearing revealing clothing. But this time, it really bothered her.

Could it be that the links to that incident were too much for her to take?

Ann groaned in despair, shook her head and pulled her entire outfit off her body before storming out of the changing room.

"Huh? Did the suit not fit, Ann-chan?"

Suddenly, Ann had to pause. Haru had a slightly saddened look on her face, as if she was disappointed that she didn't wear it out. Ann gulped, unsure of what to say.

Yusuke, who had somehow pulled off the posh look with his outfit, asked with a grin, "Too revealing for ya?"

Ryuji turned to his friend with a pout. "Come on, Yusuke! Don't be rude!" Surprisingly, he was able to look like a real bad boy with that leather jacket and skull mask of his.

Makoto looked upset. "Aw! I wanted to see Ann in that red suit!"

However, Akira was staring right at her with a knowing look, as if he was able to read her mind. Somehow, Ann did not like it one bit.

Stuttering, Ann laughed it off. "Oh, no! It fits really well! It's just that I feel kind of shy wearing it now so... yeah. Hehe!"

Haru nodded a little. "I... I see..."

"Um, okay! So I guess I'd better go now! I made plans with my family to go dine out today, so I have to leave first! See you!"

Ann quickly sped out of the room, leaving the rest to stare at her from behind.

Haru sighed softly as she clutched her head. "Something's up with Ann, and I think I know why..."

* * *

Walking down the empty hallway, Ann sighed in frustration. She didn't know what happened to her. There was a strange feeling of rage inside of her that she could not explain, and it would have bubbled up and exploded if she had continued to stay there any longer.

She paused and stared at the crimson red mask in her hands. Panther: the girl who rebelled against her teacher who was sexually harassing her and stole his twisted desires along with her friends to make him confess. Though the sexual harassment part wasn't a part of Ann herself, but one of the reasons why Panther was ostracised by everyone else was because of her looks.

And who's to say that Ann wasn't like that either?

"Hm? Oh, hello, Ann! Never noticed it, but your twin-tails look great on you!"

Startled to hear someone call her, Ann looked up to see Goro in front of her. "Oh, um, hey Akechi-san. Thanks for the compliment! By the way... what's with that staff?"

Goro looked at the golden staff in his hand before he looked back at her. "It's a prop for a play that our Drama Club is going to act out, of course! What else did you think it was going to be? And please, just call me Goro. I'm okay with the first-name basis."

"Well, considering that there are a couple of performances going around recently, it could have been for something else..." she chuckled, "But I guess it would be most logical for the Drama Club to use that. What play are you guys doing?"

"Alice in Wonderland!" Goro announced cheerfully before he whispered mysteriously as he placed a finger to his lips. "... With a little twist."

"Oh? And what may that be?"

He snapped his fingers at her and winked. "That is for me to know, and for you to find out, sweetheart."

Ann could feel her cheeks heat up when he called her by that name. "O-Oh, okay then."

"But still, I'm curious. Why are you walking home, alone?"

Her breath hitched before she bowed her head down and continued, "Well... I didn't really feel comfortable with wearing that type of costume..."

"Hm? ... Ah, I see what you mean. Why don't you just ask Haru, or even the Director for permission to change your costume?"

"Haru doesn't have the power to change what I have to wear. It's the company."

Goro frowned for a moment. "Hm... That's troublesome. It wouldn't do good for both parties if you aren't going to like the outfit. Let me guess, it's too revealing for you?"

Ann nodded hesitantly.

"I can see why. You are pretty conservative most of the time, after all."

She paused for a moment before she asked, "Hey, um, Goro?"

He looked at her before he chuckled lightly. "It's nice to finally hear you call my name. What is it, Ann?"

"Am I in the wrong place?"

His big brown eyes widened in curiosity and shock. "In the wrong place?"

"As in..." she bit her lip. Why was she suddenly confiding in him? "Do I really belong in a place like this, where everyone hates me for who I am? All those stereotypes... all those insults they hurl at me... is that a sign that I should leave?"

Suddenly, she saw his tensed up position relax. "You didn't want to wear that outfit because you said that it was too revealing. In actual fact, it's actually because you find Panther's role and personality too similar to you because of what happened to you, am I correct? Because of that, you think that it will strengthen the impression that those students have of you being a 'slut', don't you?"

Ann gasped in shock. How did he-?!

Goro sighed before looking right at her. "Listen up, darling. There is no place where no one belongs, because there is no one out there who is able to please everyone else around him."

She stared at him with shocked blue eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it: I may be one of the popular guys in school, but am I loved by every single student in the school?" He then snorted, "I'm far from that. I get hate mail from quite a couple of students every day. In fact, it's why some people call me the 'Drama Queen' and not the 'Theatre Hero' like everyone else does, you know."

"But then-"

He interrupted her, bringing a finger up to her lip. "If you think that you have to change yourself just to please the others, you're just being manipulated by them up to they please. That isn't how the world works, Ms Ann Takamaki. So just be yourself. Do what you wish. Just don't commit some crazy crimes out there, and you'll be good to go!"

For some reason, Ann could feel the world around her vanishing. All that was in her sight was the dramatic man in front of her who had such a confident, charming smirk on his face. A feeling of happiness and confidence swelled in her heart. Was this the feeling that people felt when they finally see a glimpse of hope?

"... Thank you, Goro."

He chuckled back as he stood back up. "Don't mention it, darling. You were the one who accepted my opinion. If you didn't do anything, I wouldn't have been able to help you either. Anyways, I have to go. I need to help put these props back. See you tomorrow in class!"

As he walked away, Ann could still feel the smile on her face. That man definitely had a strange charm that made everyone attracted to him, but what he had said earlier on made sense too. Darn it, why did he have to have that charm with everyone?

Maybe that was what made her want to be his friend too. Someone whom he can depend on if he needed help.

Yet as Ann continued her way back home, she didn't know that her past would come back to conceal that beam of light that she had seen and torment her once again.

* * *

 **EXTRAS: Bloopers**

 _Starting from this chapter onwards, there will be extras after certain chapters: Bloopers from acting that do not have a significant part in the plot line. These scenes are those which have already been acted out by the time in which the updated chapters takes place, so you may consider them as checkpoints as to how much the characters have acted out in the Persona 5 game. With that, here's the first bloopers list. Enjoy!_

 **SCENE: Talk with Kawakami/Joker meets Skull on the roof**

Blooper 1

Kawakami: Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Don't get involved-

(CRASH!)

 _Both Kawakami and Akira turn towards the staircase._

Director: Cut! Sakamoto, are you okay?!

Ryuji: (crumpled at the bottom of the stairs) Ow… Don't worry, (raises a thumb) I'm good!

Kawakami: (face-palm) Can you not walk without your glasses?!

Akira: (brings a hand to his face and starts giggling madly, his face beginning to turn to the colour of a tomato)

Kawakami: (walks down the stairs and puts up three fingers in front of Ryuji) Sakamoto, how many fingers do you see?!

Ryuji: ... Um, Ms Kawakami, since when did you have six fingers...?

Kawakami: ... Please let him rest for a moment...

Blooper 2

 _Ryuji walks into the scene._

Kawakami: Speak of the devil… What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting classes today.

Ryuji: (in a husky voice) Ugh… it was nothin'.

 _Akira tries hard to hold his laughter. However, his eyes lock with Ryuji's and both of them completely lose it and roll on the floor laughing._

Director: CUT! You two, stop laughing! We need to finish this as soon as possible!

Akira: "Ugh… it was nothin'"! HAHAHAHAHA!

Ryuji: (still giggling) I'm sorry…!

Blooper 3

 _Akira walks into the scene, where Ryuji is sitting on a chair and rocking on its hind legs. Akira gulps a little, feeling a little uneasy about this._

Ryuji: There you are. Sorry for callin' you up here like this- (tips his chair far too back and the chair slides off the floor) WHOA!

 _Akira freaks out and screeches, but Ryuji manages to grab onto the railing for support just in time before he falls and hits his head._

Director: Cut! Are you okay, Sakamoto? This is your second accident!

Ryuji: I'm good! (whiny voice) Fudge-crap-sicles! Why do I have to be Skull?!

Akira: At least you didn't bash your skull, if you know what I mean.

Ryuji: …

 _Crickets chirp, and two crows fly past._

Blooper 4 (Technically not a blooper, but still…)

Ryuji: I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like "don't get involved with him," huh?

Akira: (does a gesture)

Ryuji: … (trying to contain his laughter) Heh, we're pretty much in the same boat. I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it. No wonder you're so gutsy.

 _Akira sits down on the table, and Ryuji is finally able to put his legs off the table and rest the entire chair on the floor. He leans forward._

Ryuji: What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at a castle… It wasn't a dream… right? You remember it too, yeah?

Akira: (nods)

Ryuji: Well, just 'cause we both remember it doesn't mean much though… (sits back) I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah… Thanks.

Akira: (does a gesture)

Ryuji: (forcing down his laughter) But man, that Kamoshida we saw there… (changes position) You prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumours about him.

Akira: (stands up)

Ryuji: Yeah. The ripped mophead. That asshole who was all full of himself at the castle. No one says anything against him 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that… I wonder if we can go back to that castle again…

Akira: (stares)

Ryuji: (stands up) Ugh, forget it! Must've all been a dream. It has to be! (Looks at Akira) Sorry to drag you out here like this. That's all I have to say. (Smiles widely) I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers'. I'm Ryuji Sakamoto. I'll come talk if I see you around. Don't ignore me, alright?

Akira: (nods)

Ryuji: See ya. (Walks off set)

Director: Cut! Good take!

 _After he walks off the scene, both him and Akira burst out laughing at how Akira was just doing gestures the entire scene through._

Ryuji: (still laughing) Was I talking to myself?!

* * *

 _Author's note: Hello guys! So before we end this chapter, I'll like to clarify a few things before you guys start raging at me HAHA._

 _1) Goro isn't purposely a flirt. Rather, he just says what's on his mind in what he considers to be the best way possible. Unfortunately, the way he phrases certain things makes it look like he's interested in whoever he talks to in that way. No one in the story except for Goro himself knows about this, though, and even Goro is oblivious to the effects he has on people._

 _2) Ann sees Goro as a friend, even though she does feel slightly awkward when around him. (It's going to be a running gag in the story, so please do pardon it!)_

 _And that's mostly about it! Do drop me a review or PM me if you would like to clarify certain things about the story._

 _Thank you for reading and supporting my fan fiction, and I'll see you again in the next chapter!_

 _This is A1t0aria, signing out!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Expect some crazy things, lots of drama and some continuation of Ann's plot._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Walking into the school compound, Akira stared outwards, the words Haru had said the previous day still fresh in his mind.

 _"Ann doesn't really accept her role as Panther, though they may be similar in character. It's exactly because of that, that's why it reminds Ann too much about her past which she's trying so hard to forget."_

Ann did not deserve that type of treatment. That's what Akira definitely knew. But what can he do to help her overcome this predicament?

"Hey, Akira!"

Surprised to hear someone call him, Akira turned to see Goro walking towards him with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh, hey, Akechi-kun. What's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted to walk to class with you, darling! And please, just call me Goro. We've known each other for quite a while, but let's just catch up on what we've missed out!"

"You're not a tomato, though?"

Goro stared at Akira for a while before he rolled his eyes, flipped his hair and sashayed away. "Alright! Then I shan't ketchup with you, you pea-brained cretin!"

"Are you thinking about swallowing me whole, Goro? Why did you call me 'gratin'?"

Goro shook his head as he waved a hand towards his friend in a snooty way. "Akira, I swear to god, I'm going to smash your face with the golden staff from Drama Club at this rate!"

Akira started guffawing. "Alright, alright!"

As his friend's laughter began to die down, the doe-eyed boy sighed and shook his head. "Don't ask me for help when you get chased by the Mob."

This time, he was curious and slightly confused. "Huh? What mob?"

Goro turned to Akira. "Hm? Don't you know? The Mob is a group of crazy fangirls in this school who will chase you down just to get their hands on you. They are only active before school hours, during breaks and after recess, which is why I'm always missing from my seat in class until homeroom is about to start..."

Akira nearly had a dry spit take. "Wait, so you only come into class just before the bell rings because you've been running away from them? How scary can they be?!"

He sighed in agony. "I'm one of their targets. I can tell you, it's not easy trying to hide from those mad plebeians... You really need some experience or they'll get their hands on you and do some... questionable things to you..."

The bespectacled boy gulped in horror. "Wh... why are you telling me such things?!"

"Because..." Goro left a dramatic pause before he continued, "Their next target is you."

"Wh... what?!"

He looked back at Akira. "Don't you get it? You're part of the Kurusu Comedians, not to mention you have bishounen-like good looks! It's pretty darn obvious that you're going to become a target someday!"

Suddenly, Goro tensed up. Stunned, Akira looked behind only to hear the loud thumping of footsteps like a stampede and a giant cloud of dust heading their way.

"GORO-CHAN, AKIRA-CHAN~!"

"Oh... OH MY GOD!" Goro gulped in fear before he grabbed Akira's hand. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE IF YOU DON'T WANNA DIE...!"

"Wait, what the-?!" Akira couldn't get another word in when Goro immediately sped off, dragging him behind as the herd of screaming girls tagged behind them.

* * *

The classroom's door slammed open, and Ann turned to the doorway in surprise.

"... Akira? Goro? Why are you two so dusty...?"

Hacking away madly, the two of them entered the room. Akira complained sarcastically, "We were hiding from the damn Mob in the freaking vents! Such a wonderful idea, Goro!"

Goro sent a glare towards him as he swept the dust off his shoulders. "Ooh, such satire! You're yelling at me even though I helped you, you ingrate?! You ungrateful peasant!"

"I'm still shocked that they were carrying merchandise of you, though... I mean, they have a freaking body pillow of you too? How did that happen?!"

He sobbed dramatically as he collapsed to the floor. "Don't remind me of that... It's not part of the official merchandise. My eyes have been poisoned by my own self..."

Ann was shocked! "Wait a second, the Mob's targeting you now, Akira?"

Said guy groaned as he rolled his shoulders. "Now I know why Goro said that they sucked... in more ways than one."

It was a while before the realisation hit her, and she gawked at him. "I didn't know your mind was so deep in the gutter!"

Goro sighed as he shook the dust out of his hair with his hand, "But looking on the bright side, I guess we managed to get here on time. Come on, let's get back to our seats!"

Akira quickly sat down at his seat behind Ann's and stuffed his bag underneath the desk. He turned to the blue-eyed girl and asked, "Hey, are you alright after what happened yesterday?"

She looked at him with a confounded expression before her eyes brightened up. "Oh, don't worry! I was just feeling pretty down in the dumps, but I'm all better now!"

"... Is that where you get all of your dresses?"

She smacked his shoulder. "... OI! My fashion sense ain't that bad, you know!"

"Okay, my bad!" Akira chuckled before his expression grew serious again. "But do talk to us if you're having problem coping with your role, okay?"

He saw Ann flinch before she regained composure. "So you know, huh..." However, she turned back to him with a smile as she sat back down on her chair. "Oh, but don't worry, I think I can cope."

Akira smiled back in return. "That's good to hear."

"Alright, class, settle down!" Ms Kawakami's voice echoed throughout the room as she stepped into class, still donning on her usual striped shirt and blue skirt. "Before I take attendance, I would like to introduce you to a few students from Dentotekina Academy who are on an exchange programme! Shujin has brought these students over so that we can mingle with these students from a traditional school."

Akira could hear Goro mutter, "A traditional school, huh..."

"You all can come on in!"

Upon hearing Ms Kawakami's command, the door slid open once again and a group of students entered. Their teacher smiled at them as she said. "You can introduce yourselves to the class."

The tanned guy with hair which looked like it was browned from chlorine in swimming pool water and had a muscular built grinned, "I'm Kenji Fujikawa, nice to meet you all!"

The girl whose hair was kept short with a ribbon adorned muttered softly in a sweet voice, "I'm Hitomi Yukimura. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Akira turned to Ann for a moment and noticed that she had a shocked look on her face. It wasn't very loud, but he heard her mutter under her breath, "Why... why is she here...?"

At that moment, the slightly taller girl with a rather beautiful complexion and wavy hair stepped forward with an air of confidence around her as she smiled charmingly, "I'm Aiko Nakamura. It's nice to meet you!"

* * *

Akira observed Ann's movements closely, watching as she glanced at Aiko Nakamura once in a while with a slightly hurt look on her face. Looking down, he noticed her fingers brushing the can in a habit, but she wasn't really paying attention to it. He knew something was up, but what happened?

"Yo, Ann, you okay? You're deep in thought."

Ann snapped of out her trance and turned to Akira. "Oh! Um... yeah! It's just... there's a lot of things on my mind recently..."

Akira frowned as he shifted his body such that he was facing her directly. "Are you sure? Ann, I got to say this. I'm feeling pretty worried about you. Are you really alright?"

She quickly nodded as she gave him a strained smile before standing up. "Don't worry about me, Akira. I'm fine! Excuse me for a second, but I got to go to the washroom for a moment, okay?"

Akira looked on in worry as Ann walked out of the classroom. He knew that she didn't want to talk to him, but he couldn't understand why. She definitely knew Aiko Nakamura, but what could have happened between the two of them?

Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm.

Goro whispered sharply, "Akira, we need to leave before they find us!"

"What? Why?!"

"THE MOB! They are nearly here!"

"... FUDGE LET'S GO."

* * *

"... Um. Goro?"

"What is it, Akira?"

"Wh... Where the hell did you take me to?!"

Goro started chuckling at Akira's expression as he smiled, "Somewhere I hide at whenever I have to get away from those peasants~"

Akira looked around with a concerned look on his face. The place they had entered looked like some sort of greenhouse with a small garden full of flowers inside. In the middle laid a table with a few chairs and what looked like an European tea set.

"This is just weird. I didn't know you were the type who would like stuff like this."

Goro pouted and cross his arms. "How mean! After all those years, you don't know what I'm into?"

"You were never into these types of things, Goro Akechi!"

Suddenly, he chuckled a deep, smooth laugh like that of a nobleman as he sat on one of the chairs, one leg over the other. "Well, now I am, Akira Kurusu. Would you like some earl grey tea?"

Akira was totally baffled by the entire situation. How did Goro managed to get something like that ready so fast?!

"Don't worry, darlin'. This place was actually constructed for the Drama Club members as a reward for the fame that we've brought to this school, but they can bring their friends in here," the brown-haired boy told him.

"That's not what I'm concerned about... The thing is, this place looks like it's for..." Akira couldn't bring himself to continue.

His now-flamboyant friend looked at him from above his teacup. "Hm? What is it? Relax, this is just a place to hang out. Just give your honest opinion."

"Well, it honestly seems like it's for girls."

Upon hearing Akira's comment, Goro placed his cup back down on the table and wagged a finger in disapproval. "Tsk, tsk! That's a stereotype, my friend! Not all girls like this, neither do no guys like it!"

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, darlin'. It's just I feel that sometimes, it's not nice to categorise people, you know? Here, have some biscotti!"

Akira was at a loss for words.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

Ann stepped back to her desk after knowing that Akira had left and sighed. She knew that her friend was just really worried about her, but sometimes, she would really prefer to keep certain things to herself...

She looked behind at Akira's desk. The mob must have been here earlier on. There was a huge pile of flowers, chocolates and other things, including... questionable items.

"Oh, my. What a small world! Fancy meeting you here, Ann-chan!"

The young model gasped as she heard the voice of the girl who had tormented her ever since middle school and made her life worse for her: Aiko Nakamura. Ann bit her lip as she watched the model from the other school sashay over to her.

"... Aiko."

The girl pouted, as if trying to act cute. "Aw, come on, Ann-chan! Is that how you talk to a friend?"

She fell silent. Aiko's voice still had that hint of malice that she could always detect ever since that incident. Aiko was indeed still as pretty as always, but what is that going to do about her personality?

Suddenly, a venomous voice snapped her back to reality. "... Ann Takamaki, are you going to answer me, or are you going to just be like how you were back when we were still in middle school together?"

She glared at Aiko with icy blue eyes, shocking her so-called friend for a moment. "Together? I wish that I had never gone to that school and met you, Aiko Nakamura."

Aiko folded her arms. "Now that's just being mean... And I thought we would work together as great as before for the model exchange programme!"

It was as if her words were bombshells dropping around Ann. "M-Model exchange programme...?!"

Aiko feigned ignorance, pretending to be surprised. "Don't you know? Us from Dentotekina are going to mingle with those of Shujin who are in the same studies as we are! As you probably still remember, I'm modelling, so it's pretty obvious where I'm going to, Ann-chan."

Ann could feel her frown crease further upon hearing Aiko call her that. Aiko then laughed like a noblewoman as she turned back to her appointed seat. "Well, I hope we have fun together, Ann-chan! See you later~!"

As she watched Aiko flounce her way back to her desk, Ann saw Aiko look back at her with scheming eyes, causing the rage in her to bubble even further.

"... Ann. Ann! Oi! Ann!"

"Wha-?!" Shocked, Ann quickly turned to her left to see Akira looking at her. "Oh, um, hey, Akira! What's up?"

"What on earth just happened to my desk?!"

"Well," she giggled lightly at Akira's shocked face. "The Mob probably came over to show their appreciation for you..."

"Appreciation?! What on Earth is this?!" Akira gawked in horror as he pulled something out of the pile, only for Goro to shriek in the most comical way possible and throw an 'R18' sticker on it, keeping the entire thing out of sight.

"Get that horrendous thing out of our faces! That thing's a huge disgrace to humanity!"

"... So what do I do with it?"

"Burn it, kill it with fire, I don't know! ... OI! I didn't mean now! Get that thing out of the place!"

Unfortunately, Akira was cackling madly as he ignited the blowtorch in his hands. "Well, may I never see you burn in hell, bitch!"

Goro quickly threw himself onto his friend. "Don't you dare burn that now and get yourself expelled, you dumb-ass!"

"Jeez! I was just kidding! Can't you take a little joke?!"

"... Pfft hahahahaha!"

Surprised by the sudden happy laugh, the two of them turn to Ann, who was giving off the most geniune laugh Akira had ever seen on her.

Giggling, she remarked, "You two are really great friends! I'm kinda envious..."

Akira gave her an exaggerated pout. "Are we not great friends of yours, Ann?"

"Whoa, that's not what I mean! It's just that the dynamics between you two are really unique. It's not something you'd see everyday."

Goro tutted at him. "Tsk, tsk, tsk! Don't put words into a lady's mouth, Kurusu~"

Akira gave him an exasperated stare. "K."

"...! AH! Where's my wallet?!"

Shocked to suddenly hear Hitomi, one of the exchange students, give a cry of despair, the entire class turned to her. Slightly worried, Kenji, the other exchange student, asked, "What happened? How did it go missing?"

"I-I don't know! I know I left it in my bag when I went to the washroom, but it disappeared!"

Akira watched Aiko bite her lip in slight concern. "This is serious... Your fortune charm is in there, right?"

Hitomi nodded. "Ugh, this is awful... Where on Earth could it have gone to?"

Everything that happened afterwards was a total blur. As their form teacher, Kawakami had to handle the situation. Stepping in front of the class, he watched her take a deep breath to calm herself down. Was she feeling stressed out...?

"Why did something like this happen?" He heard her groan before she looked back at the rest of the students and told them sternly, "Take out your bags. I need to check them just to ensure that Hitomi's wallet was just misplaced."

Akira dumped all of his contents in his bag onto the table, taking extra care not to let his teacher see the blowtorch which he had swiped from Ryuji's lab bag. It would be a pain if she had to interrogate him about lab safety and measure, after all.

"... Takamaki-san, may I know what this is?"

All eyes fell on the blond-haired girl who was staring at the green wallet Kawakami was holding with widened blue eyes. "Wh... what the?! I didn't-!"

However, she was interrupted when Hitomi exclaimed in shock, "Th... That's my wallet...!"

It didn't take a genuis to put two and two together to figure out what probably happened. Some of the students gasped in shock while others whispered to each other. Akira felt a horrible cold feeling rise in his throat as he tried to comprehend the situation, but soon found out that he was unable to speak up at all.

Kawakami's face had a shocked expression, but she masked it with a look of suspicion as she questioned, "Care to explain why an exchange student's wallet was in your bag...?"

The bespectacled boy turned to Ann, who looked as if she was about to burst into tears. "I... I don't know! I was in the washroom a couple of minutes ago before I came back! How could I have stolen her wallet?"

However, his teacher just sighed and clutched her head. "... Takamaki-san, please visit my office after school. Class, please sit down and wait for lessons to begin once again."

As all the students sat down in silence, Akira couldn't help it but feel a strange sense of horror and hurt as Ann followed Ms Kawakami's words, muttering, "This is a nightmare... why did this have to happen...?"

Ann quickly turned to glance at Aiko for a moment, and gasped before she turned back towards the front. Akira wasn't sure what was going on, but maybe Aiko's sad and hurtful glare seemed to be affecting Ann in a way.

Yet he didn't notice Goro looking at Aiko with a blank look on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Certain things here may not seem to be focused on Ann's story, but don't worry, I'm starting to develop her real plot line from here! Two new characters will also be appearing in here._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

 _After school..._

The group which consisted of Akira, Goro, Haru and Ryuji was silent as they waited for Ann outside the staff room, concerned looks plastered on their faces. Akira shook his head and sighed as he leaned against the wall.

Ryuji closed his eyes and muttered softly in his usual mellow way as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Why did history have to repeat itself…? Ann would never do something like this. I'm sure of it! If anything, it's probably the thief who somehow stole my blowtorch from my lab bag!"

Akira could feel sweat dripping down his forehead, but bit his lip to prevent himself from saying anything.

Haru sighed. "Ann is not that type of person. I know that for a fact. Who could've set her up?"

"... That little lady's got some acting talent, huh."

Stunned, all three of them turned to Goro, who was staring out of the window. Akira immediately spoke up. "Goro, what do you mean by that?"

"By that, I mean that Ann's definitely not the culprit. Sigh... what a cliché, shady trick that little lady had used."

Ryuji frowned slightly. "Are you talking about...?"

"Wait, why little lady though?" Akira muttered before it clicked and he started laughing. "OH MY GOD! You're calling her... Are you calling her small-minded!? PFFT!"

"And here we go again..." Goro shook his head dramatically as Akira began to burst out laughing madly. However, he continued, "Such a petty trick that the little lady's played on Lady Ann, though. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Suddenly, they heard the swinging of the glass doors of the main door of the staff room, and a disheartened Ann stepped through the doorway. Upon seeing her, the group quickly stepped out towards her. Haru, being the closest friend of Ann, asked, "Ann, how did it go?"

Ann sighed. "Kawakami-Sensei admitted that she found it strange too, so she's going to investigate a little more... But what is there to investigate?!"

Ryuji nodded reluctantly, agreeing with his friend. "If it's just a simple framing trick, there isn't really much we can do with a simple investigation. No eye witnesses, no photographs, nothing. It's really going to be difficult until someone steps in and clears Ann's name for her."

"Guess we'll just have to leave a banana peel on the floor in front of her."

Haru looked at Akira in confusion. "Huh? What does that mean?"

Akira shrugged with a mischievous grin, causing Goro to shake his head and breathe out, "Oh no, not again..."

"So that whoever tried to frame Ann here will finally slip up!"

The four of them groaned loudly in exasperation. Goro slapped his forehead and pretended to faint in a dramatic fashion. "Akira Kurusu, the Comedian of bad puns..."

"Pfft, that was ingenious, though," Haru smiled and giggled a little.

Ann slapped her friend's shoulder. "Don't encourage him!"

Ryuji cut in. "Um, I'm sorry for interrupting the fun, but... what are we going to do about Ann's case?"

"Don't mind me for asking this, but is it unanimous that we all think Ann's middle school's bitch placed the wallet into her bag?"

The blond-haired boy did a spit take before gawking at Akira. "Ann's middle school's bitch?!"

Haru raised an eyebrow as Goro started gasping for air due to laughter. "I know we all don't really like her, but it still isn't nice to call someone that, you know."

"I know, I know... but seeing her attitude makes me want to give her a bitch slap, or even a pimp slap," Akira grinned as he demonstrated a back-hand slap.

"... You're far from being a pimp, Akira Kurusu," Goro sniggered a little before his face turned serious. "But alright, now that we have agreed on the fact that Ms Aiko Nakamura is probably the one who did that, what can we do?"

"Well..." All eyes suddenly fell on Haru, who, for the first time ever, had a sinister smile on her face, shocking the rest of them.

"Uh... Haru, what are you planning?"

Haru raised her head, her half-shadowed face revealing a pair of eyes burning with what looked like rage, sending shivers down their spines. Yet that beautiful smile of hers still stayed on her face as she replied,

"Why, an eye for an eye, of course. That girl's got some attitude lessons to learn..."

* * *

Ann walked over to her locker alone. Akira and Ryuji had to go and record more footage for the Persona 5 game, Haru was getting busy with a huge project coming up and Goro was preparing for the Drama Club's play. Knowing him, Goro would probably get some female role, whether it was forced upon him or not...

Her mind was in a huge whirl. Aiko was back, and she was really still as spiteful as before. Only the group of them who were standing outside the staff room earlier on were probably the only ones who believed that she didn't do it. Everyone else gave her hateful or confused stares. She hated those eyes on her - they made her feel vulnerable.

Ann hated vulnerability - she didn't like feeling helpless, yet why couldn't she do anything about it?

The blue-eyed model watched with a cold, blank look her face as a pile of letters tumbled out of her locker. Again, the stream of hate mail that she always received once in a while was here. She was already so used to it. She had already accepted the fact that she could not please everyone in the school, especially because of the xenophobia happening not just in the school, but in their country in general. Of course, not everyone was like that, but still...

Slowly, her face began to scrunch up as her chest felt as if it was writhing in pain, as if someone was wrenching her heart out. She had already accepted the fact such a long time ago, so why does it still hurt to know that people hate her?

"Well, looks who's here!"

Ann did not even need to look at them. Just by listening to their voices, she knew that it was the same crowd of people who disliked her. Spreading rumours were already enough for her. What else were they going to do to her?

One of the girls stepped forward. "The thief of the school, huh? You stole a prized possession of someone who's not even from our school, and the teachers didn't punish you at all?! What kind of justice is this?!"

Another boy nodded. "If not even the teachers can help us students against those who are trying to ruin our lives, then we'll just have to take matters into our own hands, no?"

"Well?! Why not you turn to face us while we're looking at you, Devil Woman?"

She sighed in fatigue as she turned to face them. "What?"

"Did you seriously just asked 'What?'? Stop lying! We know everything about what you did to that exchange student, Ann Takamaki! And we're going to deal justice for her!"

"… Except that I didn't steal it. I am innocent, and I know it."

One of the other girls frowned. "You really need to learn your lesson before you'll apologise to her and atone for what you've done, huh? Well then…"

Ann stepped back as she bit her lip in anticipation, her back pressed against the walls of cold, hard, metal lockers as they advanced. Meanwhile, she caught sight of a familiar girl walking past before smirking back at her, glad to see Ann getting pressured by the crowd.

Ann closed her eyes, waiting for the torment to begin.

* * *

"And cut! Good take! Good job on completing three of the Chariot Confidant scenes today!"

"Wa-hoo-hoo!" Akira cackled in delight as he flipped out of his seat and nearly rammed into the setting's fake wall nearby. Ryuji started laughing, but still lectured, "Akira-san, be careful!"

Grinning happily, Akira turned to the Director and asked, "Does this mean that we're allowed to leave?"

"Unfortunately, no. Sakamoto is allowed to leave, but you still have a couple more scenes to film with the others. They should be coming in soon."

There was a moment of silence before Akira slapped both his hands onto his face and cried. "... No-ho-ho! God damn it!"

Upon seeing his friend's reaction, Ryuji started chuckling at his friend's plight as he walked towards the changing room. "Pfft! Have fun, buddy! I'll just be changing out of this and then I'll head out!"

"RYUJI SAKAMOTO! YOU GET BACK HERE!"

"Whoa, whoa. It's getting really lively in here, ain't it?"

Akira's shrieks and Ryuji's laughter were interrupted when both of them heard a familiar voice in the vicinity. Surprised, Akira swivelled his head towards the door only to see a male with short bluish-black hair and a girl with long blonde hair pulled up into a navy blue headband. Based on the slight unnatural colour, it seemed as if the girl's hair was coloured with hair dye. However, that was not the one thing that caught his attention.

"M-Mishima-san?!"

Smiling back, his classmate waved back at him. "Yo, Kurusu-san! I'm here for some filming, along with Yaya here!"

Yuuki Mishima was Akira's classmate, but he had never really spoken much with him. However, he did know that Mishima was a nice guy, considering how the others seem to like interacting with him. Meanwhile, the girl pouted at him as she grumbled, "I told you not to call me that when we're in front of others, Yuuki-chan! That's for alone time…"

"Oh, right! Hehe, I'm sorry, Chihaya…" Mishima grinned sheepishly before he diverted his attention back to Akira. "Oh! I might as well introduce you to her. Chihaya, this is Akira Kurusu, the transfer student in my class. Kurusu-san, this is Chihaya Mifune from 3-B. We've been dating for about a couple of months."

Chihaya returned with a sweet smile as she held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kurusu-san! I hope we can work well together!"

Akira stared down at her hand, smiled secretly and reached out to accept her hand. "A pleasure to meet you too, Chihaya-san."

"…! Wait a second…" Mishima frowned before he snatched Akira's hand out and yanked the whoopee cushion out of his hand. Seeing that his suspicion was true, he grinned, "Nailed it! I knew you would do something like that! You are a part of the Kurusu Comedians, after all!"

"A… whoopee cushion? Come on, Akira-san! Seriously?" Chihaya smiled and shook her head. "You remind me of my younger cousin…"

"Am I really like a pesky brat to you, Chihaya-san?!"

"By the way..." She started giggling a little before she revealed, "Did you know that our dear Yuuki-chan here is SNOWFALL?"

Mishima gawked as his head snapped towards her. "Hey! Chihaya, I'm not calling you Yaya anymore! Why did you still disclose my identity?!"

"Because you've already called me Yaya earlier," she replied with a triumphant smirk on her face as she pinched his cheeks, causing him to sigh and shake his head.

Ryuji's words were all jumbled up as he struggled to speak up while bursting out of the changing room. "H-Hold the phone! SNOWFALL?! The Utaite?! You are...!"

"Whoa, calm down, Sakamoto-san..."

"Yep! He's the Utaite who's known for rapping really well! Of course he can sing too, but his rapping skills really take the cake!" Chihaya nodded in excitement.

"Hey, don't mind me for asking, but..." Ryuji began, "What roles do you two play in the game?"

Mishima replied for the both of them, "I'm Moon, a classmate of the Protagonist. Chihaya's the Fortune confidant, acting as a Fortune Teller."

"It's kind of weird for someone like me to play the role of an adult, though..." Chihaya giggled lightly.

"-haya! Chihaya!"

Suddenly, the doors burst open once more, and Futaba ran into the room, panting madly. Chihaya turned to the orange-haired girl in surprise. "Futaba? What is it?"

She held out a violet-coloured file. "You left your homework file in your classroom! Hifumi-Senpai told me to help return it to you."

"Huh?! Oh, god! I didn't know that! Thanks, cousin-kinz!" She laughed at her own mistake before messing up Futaba's hair, causing the young girl to pout a little. Realising what his senior had just said, Akira stared with eyes wide-open.

"F-Futaba-san is your...?!"

"Mm-hm! Futaba here's my adorable little cousin!" The girl in the navy blue headband nodded as she looked back at the bespectacled girl. "Trust me when I say that she's very shy, but once you get to know her, she's just one little terror of mischief…"

Futaba sighed softly before she muttered, "Chihaya…"

"Alright, alright, sweetie! Don't take what I just said so seriously! Anyways, thanks for bringing the file over! Are you still busy preparing for the concert?"

She bit her lip in slight nervousness. "W-Well, I guess it's going fine… I mean, I've been practising a lot with the group recently… Oh! Um, Akira-Senpai? Ryuji-Senpai? Can I ask you something?"

Ryuji looked up from packing his things and asked curiously, "What is it, Futaba-san?"

She shuffled her feet from side to side as she asked, "Did… did something happen to Ann-Senpai?"

The two boys looked at each other in knowing glances before Akira turned back to her. "Something rather… complicated cropped up. Why do you ask, Futaba-san?"

"Um… I walked past her on the way here. She looked really exhausted and upset about something. I think I even heard her crying, but… I'm not too sure if it was just a sigh or…"

The three guys on scene simply stared in horror as they tried to comprehend the situation while Chihaya just looked on in confusion. Mishima quickly regained composure and asked, "So where is she now?"

"I think she was walking towards the direction of the stairway. Maybe she was heading towards the rooftop…?"

Ryuji looked at her with serious eyes before he lifted up his bag and questioned her, "So she headed towards the roof?"

"I think so…"

He nodded before he began walking towards the door. "You guys continue filming. There are certain things that I would have to talk about with her."

* * *

 **BLOOPERS:**

SCENE: Meeting Fox and Modelling

Blooper 1

 _Stalker scene: Ann is standing onset, looking around anxiously. Yusuke sees her and starts walking towards her with a hand out. Ryuji and Akira intervene, causing Yusuke to pause. The camera pans up to reveal Yusuke's face._

Yusuke: … Hm?

 _Yusuke tilts his head to the side, but as he does that, a gust of wind blows and whips his hair out of place, causing it to stick in all directions._

Akira, Ryuji and Ann: … PFFT.

Director: Cut! Kitagawa, adjust your hair! Let's do this again!

Yusuke: … (breathes deeply and adjusts his hair) OH YOU LIL' SHITS.

 _The group continues laughing._

Blooper 2

Yusuke: I didn't even notice the calls from Sensei… But thank goodness, I caught up to you.

Ann: (flips her twin-tails a little) OK…

Ryuji: What?

Yusuke: You're the woman I've been searching for all this time! Please, won't you-

Ann: (shocked) W-Wait a minute, I-

Yusuke: (steps forward in an exaggerated way with one hand out to the side) -Be the model for my next art piece?!

 _The group stares at Yusuke in shock and confusion as he stays in that position with a serious look on his face for about five seconds before rolling on the floor laughing their asses off._

Blooper 3

Yusuke: I'm reporting you to the police.

Akira, Ryuji and Ann stare at him in shock.

Yusuke: I asked Takamaki-san to be my model today, but I don't recall ever calling you two here!

Ryuji: (Stomps forward) What the eff, man?!

 _Akira, Ann and Yusuke all turn to look at him with surprised looks in their eyes before they burst out laughing madly._

Ryuji: (confused, eyes wide) Wh-wha? Did I do something wrong?!

Yusuke: (guffawing and slapping his leg while pointing at Ryuji) You… you seriously can't say 'fuck'?! WAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ryuji: I don't wanna swear on camera! What's wrong with that?!

Akira: (sniggering) That's fine, but… Oh, god! Pfft! Role model student's on the roll, indeed!

Ann: GOD DAMN IT, AKIRA.

Blooper 4

 _Yusuke wants to report the group to the police, but Ann manages to calm both him and Ryuji down before things get worse._

Yusuke: I won't report you… (sniggers a little, but forces his laughter down so that it's not obvious) But only under one condition.

Ann: (places hand on chin) What's that?

Yusuke: I want you to continue being my model, Takamaki-san.

Ann: (frowns a little) But you said that it wasn't working out today…

Yusuke: That's because I was unconsciously being modest for your sake…

Akira: (starts giggling a little)

Yusuke: (trying to keep a straight face) However, I have nothing to worry about anymore. If you're willing to… (swallows to keep his laughter down) … bare everything to me…

Yusuke makes a fist of determination.

Yusuke: … I will put my heart and soul… PFFT… into creating the best nude painting ever…! … (Suddenly falls onto the floor) BWAHAHAHAHA…!

 _Suddenly, the rest of them crash onto the floor and start cackling madly in laughter with him._

Ryuji: Oh my goodness, my sides…!

Akira: That is freaking genius… pfft-hahahahaha!

Director: CUUUUUT! Hello, are you guys on Laughing Gas today or what?! This ain't a laughing metre on steroids!

 _Somehow, whatever the Director said caused them to laugh even harder._

Blooper 5

 _Previously, Ann has agreed to be a nude model for Yusuke, and is now in the house, waiting for him to prepare his art supplies._

Yusuke: (in a happy tone) To think you'd really come… I assumed you were lying when you contacted me.

Ann: I'm sorry it was so sudden.

Yusuke: Oh, it's not a problem. But as I told you yesterday, Sensei will be returning in about twenty to thirty minutes. So um… I am sorry if that causes some anxiety on your part.

Ann: (whispers) That's why I'm here today, dammit.

Yusuke: (turns to Ann, only to see what she's wearing and begins to choke down his laughter) … What was that?

Ann: (false tone) Oh no, it was nothing.

Yusuke: (starting to shake with laughter) B-by the way… have you… pfft! Have you… (Says quickly) Haveyougainedsomeweight-?! (Falls to the ground) PFFT-HAHAHAHAHA!

 _Ann is wearing a huge ton of clothes on her body, making her look comically chubby all of a sudden. Akira and Ryuji, who have been forcing down their giggles, begin laughing loudly offset along with Yusuke._

Ann: (screaming as she stamps her foot like a toddler throwing a tamper tantrum) I know I look ridiculous, but stop laughing at me, dammit!


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Hello guys, I'm back! I'm so sorry for not updating often - I've been really busy with schoolwork and art commissions recently! Unfortunately, this is going to continue, and I'm not going to be updating very often for quite a while because my end of year exams are also coming up. It's going to be difficult to juggle everything at once, so I'm going to cut down on the time I spend writing this fan fiction and drawing, and I will be focusing more on my studies. That doesn't mean that I won't be updating, though. It's just that I won't be updating it often. I hope you guys can understand!_

 _With that aside, please enjoy the story!_

* * *

Ann stood at the rooftop, staring off in the distance as she gathered her thoughts. Eyes still red and poufy from crying, she could feel a burning hot feeling on her face that made her want to break down crying again.

The bullying didn't use to be so bad, so why? Did the incident back in class cause more people who didn't like her in the first place to surface out? Ann could never understand bullying - that was just trying to act more superior than others, no?

Maybe she wasn't even really welcomed into this place...

"Ann! Oi, Ann!"

Ann snapped out of her thoughts before coming to a realisation that it had been happening to her a lot of times. Just how many things does she have in mind...? Absentmindedly, she turned towards the source of the call and came to face a girl with a black ponytail and the blond-haired boy.

"... Oh, Ryuji, Suzui-san, what are you two doing here?"

Her male friend rubbed the back of his head, yet still maintained that smart posture of his. "We're here to see how you're holding up. Futaba-san told me that you were here, and you appeared distraught. I happened to meet Suzui-san on my way here."

"I... I see," Ann muttered softly before she looked up and forced a smile. "It's okay, though. Thanks for caring about me and my well-being, but I'm fine."

However, Shiho stepped forward with a concerned frown on her face. "Ann, I'm really worried about you. Your eyes are all red. Have you been crying?"

"I-I'm fine now, Suzui-san. It's okay."

"That doesn't look okay to me, y'know. Come on, Ann! We're all here for you! Just tell us if you have anything weighing your heart down!"

At that moment, Ann paused before standing straight up and looking right at the two of them. "I am okay. I just need some peace and quiet, okay?"

"But Ann-"

"Just leave me alone!"

Immediately regretting her outburst, Ann gasped in horror when she saw the hurtful look on Shiho's face. Smiling bitterly, the girl with the ponytail replied, "W-Well... if you want to have some time to catch your breath and resolve your feelings, it's okay. I... I won't bother you for now. Later, Ann..."

As Shiho turned, Ryuji looked back at Ann and added, "Take some time to recollect your thoughts, but do remember that we're always available to lend a listening ear, alright?"

As the two of them turned to leave, Ann spun around and growled in frustration. She had messed up again, didn't she?

Ann took a deep breath to calm herself down. Why can't she just tell them how she truly felt?

* * *

"She won't listen at all… Neither Suzui-san nor I could make her open up…"

Now sitting around at the cafeteria after the rest of them had finished shooting, the group stared down in silence. Yuki and Chihaya had left due to having to finish their project works, while Makoto, Yusuke, Haru, Futaba and Goro decided to join in.

Shiho sighed. "I'm actually really worried about her. I mean, I don't actually know her that well, but I want to help her!"

Makoto agreed with a nod. "I'm pretty sure everyone wants to help her, but the problem is, she wouldn't even speak to us. We don't even know what the heck is wrong!"

A crack of knuckles was heard as Yusuke growled angrily, "If only we could simply solve this shit by punching each of those assholes' faces… Oh wait, assholes don't even have faces to look at."

Futaba swerved towards Yusuke in shock as she muttered, "Oh, wow. Yusuke-Senpai, you're really furious. Are you okay?"

He shook his head. "No. I can't stand people getting bullied just for these types of douchebaggery, you know?"

Goro tutted at him, which just resulted in the usual glare from him. "Language, Yusuke-chan!"

"Actually," Haru began with a sinister smile growing on her face, "I managed to get the help of someone from Ann's modelling class to help Aiko Nakamura learn her lesson… Do you guys know Mika from class 3-C?"

Everyone else stared at her in horror, while Akira and Futaba just looked on in puzzlement. Akira cleared his throat and asked, "Who's that? Is she some sorta legend?"

Makoto began sniggering at the remark. "You aren't too wrong about that, Akira."

"She's Ann's senior. Apparently, she's known as a… well… a horrible person to people whom she doesn't like…" Ryuji explained as his voice faltered off from his strange phrasing before he quickly added, "Oh! But she stands up for the people whom she cares for, though! And that includes Ann! I think…"

Yusuke suddenly broke down into maniacal laughter. "Come on, Sakamoto! Admit it, you wanted to say that she was a 'Mega Bitch', didn't you?"

"Come on, Yusuke! Mika isn't that mean, either, okay? It's just that I was wondering how to really describe her in a way that suits her the best!"

"In short, you're just trying to say that Mika stands up for her friends, am I right?" Goro sighed. "Come on, Ryu-chan! I know you excel in Sciences and all, but do you really fail that badly at Language?"

"H-Hey! I scored an A in Language, okay?!"

"Doesn't seem like it, if you ask me…"

"Okay, okay! Back to the topic," Haru interrupted, catching back the attention of everyone else. "Mika has already told me that she would help ensure that Aiko learns her lesson, but we also need to ensure that Ann doesn't get harassed again, okay? That one crowd which went after her was already bad enough to make her cry, and I don't want her to freak out like that all over again, okay?"

Yusuke grinned, "Rest assured. I'll make sure no one touches her, or else…"

"Someone's enthusiastic, I see."

"He isn't the only one who's enthusiastic, you know?" Shiho giggled at Futaba before she opened her eyes and grinned. "I really can't wait to see that girl finally realise her mistakes and apologise to Ann."

"But then…" Ryuji suddenly began to frown. "I don't think we should do those types of things to Aiko either. Doing such things… Isn't it like standing at the same calibre as her? Doesn't that mean we're literally just like her? I honestly don't think Ann would appreciate us doing something like this."

Haru sighed. "Well… But for Nakamura to learn that what she's doing is wrong, we can't really do anything else, can we? All we can do is to make her realise the gravity of the situation that she had placed Ann in. We can't even talk to the teachers about this - we don't have any evidence, and she's a transfer student. Even you had said so yourself back when we were at the office."

"That's true, but… it just doesn't seem right."

However, Makoto suddenly quipped in enthusiastically. "Well, if no one's gonna help her, we are the only ones left to deal with it, right?! Come on, guys! Don't tell me you guys have forgotten about who we're acting as back in the Persona 5 game! We are acting as a group of vigilantes!"

"Plus," Akira suddenly looked up upon realisation. "This isn't just about avenging Ann or anything like that anymore. It's about showing her that she does have people by her side supporting her! The reason why she wouldn't open up to us is because she doesn't know if she could trust us with everything about her. So once she realises that we have always been by her side…"

Futaba's eyes widened and she snapped her fingers. "She would finally get to share her burden with us!"

Goro started chuckling. "Took long enough for you all to realise that. Still, it's not bad that you all finally figured it out."

"Now that I think about it…" Shiho mused. "I'm pretty sure there are people who want to help stand up for her too, but do not know how and are just too scared to do so."

"And that's why we gotta do it!" Yusuke grinned back. However, everything was interrupted when his handphone rang. "Sorry, gimme a sec… Hello? …What?! Right now?! Yo, hold the damn phone! Are you fucking with me right now?! Argh! …Fine. I'll come over."

Locking his phone once more, Yusuke gave a huff of irritation before picking up his bag and telling them, "Sorry guys, my instructor just called. I gotta go now. See ya."

As he started walking away, Haru looked at her phone. "Oh, it's actually getting pretty late. Should we all head back home now?"

* * *

Another new, horrible day in school. Ann stared at her vandalised desk, which was filled with insults and taunts scribbled all over it. She sighed as she took out a wet wipe and began scrubbing it, praying that at least some of the marks would go away.

Nothing happened. After all, the vandalism was done with permanent ink.

"Ann, do you need me to get a new desk for you?" Shiho had asked worriedly, but Ann shook her head in response.

"It's fine. I don't want to trouble you. I'm pretty sure the teachers don't even care about these types of things anymore."

She scrubbed so hard, she nearly thought that the entire surface of the table was going to fall onto the ground. But nothing happened.

It was just like back in middle school. Ann had tried getting help from others to help stop the bullying. But nothing happened. She had given up a long time ago. She was too used to it - so used to it that it actually hurt to think about it.

Both Akira and Goro were missing from their seats. They were probably trying to hide from the Mob. No one else was around to talk to her. Even Haru, who sometimes came over to talk to Ann, wasn't here because she was recently loaded with project works from her course. But she was okay with that - she needed some peace and quiet.

"Oi, Ann."

Bored, she turned towards whoever called out to her only to widen her eyes in surprise. "Oh, Yusuke? What are you doing here? Class is about to start."

"Just here to see how're ya doin'," he replied as he grabbed Akira's chair, swivelled it around and plonked himself on it. "Plus, my class is just next door, y'know. Is everything okay with you? I heard about what happened."

"You heard about it, huh… Hey, are you seriously eating right now?"

He bit into another marshmallow. "Why not? … Anyways, I'm just here to tell you to ignore whatever they say or do. Sooner or later, they'll probably give up, or you'll just have a stronger will."

She looked at him before she started giggling. "Whoa, since when did the delinquent of the school become so wise?"

"Shut up! It's just… every single one of us is really damn worried about you, you know? Come on, Ann. Just know that we are all always by your side, m'kay? Right, I guess I gotta go. Shibata is probably gonna bitch about me again if I end up late for homeroom, and I don't wanna use that stupid excuse again to get myself into detention."

"You mean, your usual catchphrase? The 'I'm not late - I'm just really early for tomorrow.'? Pfft!"

"Yeah, exactly that. See ya."

However, they suddenly heard a catcall. Yusuke spun around in irritation to see Yuuki grin at them. "Hey~ I didn't know that the delinquent of Shujin would have the hots for Ann too!"

"We are just friends, god damn it!"

"Oh? It doesn't seem like it, though!" Yuuki began snickering before he rested his head on the table and asked, "By the way, I'm kinda surprised. You're eating so much sweet stuff?"

"…You got a problem with that, Mishima?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm just surprised, because of the stereotype that girls are usually the ones who like sweet stuff. I mean, my girlfriend and sisters all loves desserts, so…"

Shiho, who had been listening to the conversation, sighed as she entered it. "I can't blame you for thinking that way… I love sweet foods too. They're my guilty pleasure. Still, that stereotype isn't always true."

Ann gulped. She hadn't apologised to Shiho let. However, how was she going to do that?

Yusuke sighed before he began walking out of the classroom. "It's not like I really care about those types of things anymore… See you later, Ann."

"Uh, okay…? See you later," she muttered before she looked up at him and smiled back, "And thanks for caring about me."

He stopped for a moment before giving her a smile and turning back towards the door.

* * *

Standing outside the classroom, Ryuji asked Yusuke while pushing up his glasses, "So, did you do what you wanted to do?"

He nodded back in response as the two began heading back to their classroom. "Yeah. Hopefully, she feels better."

"Well, I didn't know that you were the type to comfort others. It's really nice to see someone like you do that once in a while."

"What do you mean 'someone like me', Ryuji Sakamoto?!"

"Come on, calm down! It's just that… you really give off an intimidating aura to every single person who doesn't know you because of the way you act. Seriously, try to be more polite and respectful, won't you?"

Yusuke groaned. "I swear, you're really like an old man… Oi, Sakamoto."

The blond-haired boy looked back at his friend. "Hm? What is it, Yusuke?"

He tossed the half-eaten bag of marshmallows to him. "You can have it if you want. I'm not in the mood to finish 'em anymore."

Ryuji quickly caught the bag with his fast reflexes and stared back at the blue-haired man in shock. "You don't want the marshmallows anymore? This isn't like you at all… Did something happen?"

Yusuke huffed in irritation before grumbling, "Nah, it's nothing. Just don't feel like it today."

However, Ryuji could see the troubled look casted over Yusuke's eyes.

* * *

Ann was in a complete state of confusion as to what had just happened back in her modelling course. So many weird things have been happening recently, she didn't know if there were actually people out to get Aiko Nakamura.

A couple of hours back, the group of models along with the transfer students from Dentotekina High School were doing some modelling practices with each other, hence they had to go get changed into the clothes and apply make-up. However, it was at that moment when Ann noticed that Aiko was looking very distraught. Curious, she went to take a look, only to hear Aiko mutter,

"I remembered that my nail polish was pink! How the hell did it turn…"

It was only then when Ann noticed the colour of Aiko's nail polish, and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The beautiful rose pink colour had somehow turned into a nasty puke green which would make anyone grimace at the sight of it.

Aiko groaned in dismay as she stood up and walked towards her bag. "… Ugh, someone must have sabotaged it! Darn it, now I need to go find another colour which suits this kimono…"

Ann suddenly remembered that Aiko came from a traditional school, and started to wonder. Do the models only get to wear kimonos for their photoshoot? She shook her head. Somehow, that kind of sucks… Suddenly, she had a thought a mind.

"Ann, darling. Are you okay?" Her senior, Mika, asked as she sauntered towards her. Ann had heard that Mika was also going to be acting in Persona 5 later on, but as a minor antagonist to her character, Panther.

"Um, I'm fine! I'm just wondering if I should share my nail polish with Aiko since… someone kind of destroyed her own."

"Oh, you don't have to. I'm pretty sure Namakura-san has her own set that she'd prefer to use. Plus, weren't you two enemies, or something like that?"

The blond-haired girl sighed in sadness. "I wish we weren't enemies… I really didn't want such things to happen."

Smiling gently, the brunette gave her a hug. "Don't worry about that, Ann darling. Sometimes, things just won't go the way you like it. That's life. Now, come on. Let's go and put on those jeans, and rock the catwalk!"

"Thanks, Mika," she couldn't help but smile back as Mika spun her around and gave her a gentle push towards the changing room.

Yet she couldn't help but notice the seemingly sinister grin hiding behind Mika's sweet smile, and Ann started to sense a feeling of skepticism crawl up her chest. Ann wasn't stupid enough to not notice that the cast had been meeting up without her, and had also included Shiho into their little group. She knew that they wouldn't just leave her out like that, so there must be something that they are trying to hide from her.

"Just… what the heck are they planning?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _A couple more new characters will be appearing today, including some from the other series from the Persona franchise. This chapter will also be extra long, because it's the conclusion of Ann's arc and the beginning of Yusuke's arc. (Ann's arc is actually one of the easier, slightly less serious cases. As we continue down with the story, the gravity of each of the situations the characters have to handle will become much heavier.)_

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"Whoa, whoa. That nail polish ain't going on the photoshoot today, apparently," Makoto remarked with a snort when Mika told them all about what the group had done to Aiko's nail polish.

Chuckling darkly, Mika replied as she high-fived Haru. "That ought to be a lesson for her to learn."

The group was back at the cafeteria, where Mika was telling them about what happened back in the modelling room. Some of them had a great laugh about it, but the others seem to have perplexed looks on their faces.

At that point, Mika stood up. Alright, guys. I have to go now. I still have to go and meet up with some other friends, m'kay? Buh-bye!

As Mika left the table, Futaba suddenly asked in her soft voice, "... Hey, would this be what Ann-Senpai wants, though? To see us all stoop so low too?"

Ryuji sighed sadly. "That is exactly what I was thinking about too..."

However, Yusuke suddenly stood up and bellowed, "It's not like we could do anything else?! Do you guys actually think we really want to do this?!"

"... I appreciate your concerns, but there's no need to go through such trouble," a female voice said as the clacking of boots echoed closer, causing them to turn towards the sound.

"... Ann?"

It was at that point which they saw the look on her face when they realised that they had taken it too far.

The girl with twin-tails folded her arms. "Look, Aiko may have done some really horrible things, but that doesn't mean she has to be tormented like this! Do you know how important that photoshoot was that day, especially to the transfer students?"

Ryuji shook his head as he removed his glasses and pinched his nose bridge. "I told you guys this would go badly..."

However, Haru stood up and looked at Ann. "She needs to learn, Ann. Plus, we're doing this for your sake too. She needs to know that she shouldn't even be doing things like these."

"... I don't want you guys to do something like this to anyone ever again. Stooping so low... that's just being the same as her. That isn't worth it. Plus..."

She turned her back on them and hissed, "It's not like there's anything I can do about it, is there?!"

There was silence, before Akira suddenly stood up and yelled back, causing Ann to swerve back towards him in shock. "Yes, there is! It's just because you wouldn't stand up for yourself, that's why we need another way for Aiko Nakamura to learn not to do such things to you, or anyone else!"

Goro stood up and added with a smile, "Come on, sweetheart. You need to have more confidence in yourself. You need to be able to face those who belittle you head on, not just grit your teeth and bear with it if you feel uncomfortable with it. Have you forgotten what I had told you that day? Just be yourself, because no one man can't please everyone."

"I... I..." Ann was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, Haru sighed with a smile. "I guess I should have just trusted you more, Ann. Sorry for being such a horrible best friend."

"Th-That's not true, Haru! It's just... I didn't want you guys to do the same things to her too because it's not worth it..." Ann's voice faltered slightly, causing Futaba to giggle.

"'Not worth it'? It really wouldn't be worth it if you weren't happy, Ann-Senpai!"

"Exactly," Yusuke nodded in agreement as he tossed a box of pocky to her.

"You guys..."

However, Ryuji leapt out of his seat like a March hare and began dashing off. "AAH! We're going to be late for our shooting! Let'sgoLet'sgoLet'sgo!"

Akira glanced at his watch before bouncing out and running behind. "Crap, I didn't realise we only have five minutes! HAHAHAHAHA! Come on, let's run!"

As the entire group ran towards the set and laughed at the same time, thoughts raced across her mind as she tried to clear it up. Why hadn't she noticed it before? She had so many people around her supporting her! There are already people who like her the way she was, so why did she have to feel bad whenever anyone tries to taunt her?

Though she still had to ponder about the situation for her to reach her final answer, Ann couldn't help but suddenly feel a ray of sunshine warm her up once more.

* * *

"Oi, Yusuke-chan~!"

POKE!

A sharp pain suddenly surged into the back of Yusuke's head, causing him to shriek in pain and swerve around. "OW! What the fuck, Akechi?!"

"Oh? Did my mask smack into the back of your head? Sorry about that, hun!" Goro laughed as he removed his Crow mask. "But anyways, it's real nice to see you wearing something so extravagant out of your course."

He shook his head. "Stabbed me in the damn back... you really suit the title of the betrayer in this game."

Goro pouted. "Mou, Yusuke-chan! By the way, when will you tell them about you being a... Da-"

Yusuke clamped a mouth over Goro's mouth as he slammed the mask back onto his face. "Shut the fuck up about that! Oh my god, will you stop being such an asshole?!"

"Come on, Yusuke-chan, you know you can't hide from them for long~"

Peeved, Yusuke glared down at the brunette as he growled, "Listen up, Goro Akechi. I don't know what the hell you're planning to do, but I've been tolerating you for a long time. I didn't call you out only because we were with the others, but if you dare to say anything to them, I swear, I'm gonna-"

"What? You're going to fuck me right in the ass?" Goro grinned, much to the horror of the delinquent. "That's where your vulgarities are going to bring you, you know. And about that invitation, no thank you."

Yusuke stared back at the flamboyant man in astonishment. "... Dafuq."

However, Goro began pondering. "So I guess you don't want me to talk behind your back and become a 'Back-Stabber', huh..."

"Wait, what are you going to-"

"Then I guess I'll just have to stab you in the front!"

POKE POKE POKE POKE!

"OI! NOT MY NOSE, DAMN IT!"

Ryuji, who was changing into his costume, stepped in and sighed, "Hey, no fighting, you two-"

"Excuse me! This is where Persona 5 is being filmed, am I correct?"

Akira, who had just stepped out of the room, looked at the entrance and gasped, "Wh... Oh my god! Theodore from Persona 3? Margaret from Persona 4? Igor from the Persona series?! What?!"

"Hello!" Theodore smiled back while Margaret continued to tend to Igor, helping the old man walk into the room. "Easy does it, father..."

A smile grew on the Director's face as he stood up and walked towards the group. "Hello there, it's nice to meet you guys again! Is Lavenza with you?"

Margaret chuckled lightly, "Oh, my daughter? Yes, yes. She's here. She's just a little shy. Come on, Lavenza. Introduce yourself!"

A small shuffle was heard, and a young girl emerged from behind her. Putting her hands together, Lavenza bowed, "I'm Lavenza, also playing as Caroline and Justine, the Velvet Room assistants. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Whoa-ho-ho, you're gonna be playing three roles at the same time?" Makoto asked in shock as she came back from packing some of her clothes at the back. "That's freaking crazy! Are you able to cope?"

Lavenza nodded and continued in the soft, monotonous voice, "There's no need to look down on me. I may be thirteen, but I was trained to act. I will be fine."

Theodore laughed heartily as he patted Lavenza's head. "Come on, my dear niece! You can be better than that!"

"Oh! Speaking of which," the Director said as he looked around, "Where's Elizabeth?"

Igor chuckled as he replied, "That workaholic daughter of mine? She's still at work, of course."

BZZT! BZZT! BZZT!

"Oh, sorry 'bout that," Yusuke apologised as he fished out his phone and stepped away. "Hello...?"

As they continued chatting, however, Ryuji stared intensely at his friend as he tried to hear the conversation.

"What the hell... I told you not to call me at this hour, damn it! ... Hello?! I'm not free to hand the money to you right now, you fucking bastard! Don't you get it?! ... W-W-Hang on! Don't you dare do that! ... Okay, okay, I'm sorry for being vulgar to you! Happy?! ... Ugh! Fine! I'll meet you in a moment."

Growling underneath, Yusuke slammed his phone shut and walked back towards the Director. "Hey, I'm sorry, Sir, but I gotta head to the washroom for a moment. Would that be okay?"

The Director nodded. "Sure, we'll be filming the Velvet room scenes first anyways."

As Yusuke walked out, Ryuji stared at him with a concerned frown on his face. He couldn't just let his friend go like that! Something must be happening to him!

Excusing himself, Ryuji headed towards the washroom as well.

* * *

SLAM!

Akira groaned in pain as he rubbed his butt and stood up. "Ow...! I swear my ass just got like... three new cracks!"

After they had finished the filming of some of the Velvet Room scenes, the group were now practising the action moves that they had to do when filming the Palace scenes. Madarame ended up going for the course first, so the schedule was back to original plan where they started off with Kamoshida's Palace. However, the crew decided that they had to learn how to do all of the parkour in the game, so all of the Phantom Thieves were present.

Margaret, who was watching them practise along with the rest of the Velvet Room cast, chuckled as she asked, "Kurusu-san, are you quoting Yosuke-kun back when the Persona 4 group acted in Persona Q?"

"What else am I supposed to say? It really hurts..." Akira whimpered as he sobbed comically.

"Don't worry, Akira-san. You're not the only one who's horrible at this type of stuff..." Ryuji sighed in agony as he rubbed the back of his head. Akira could have sworn he saw a bump grow on his head.

Makoto started cackling in amusement. "Geez, you guys suck!"

Ann groaned as she flopped over the fake half-wall. "Says the martial arts expert!"

"I guess it's a good thing I don't need to do this..." Futaba muttered.

"Come on, Makoto-chan, there's no need to mock everyone else who can't do it..." Haru lectured her classmate as she shook her head in disappointment.

Yusuke tossed his faux katana aside as he let out a loud sigh. "At least it'll all be over in half an hour... why can't time pass faster?!"

Kamoshida, who was overseeing their parkour practice, brought a hand to his face. "Okay guys, you all can take a five-minute break... Make sure you all keep yourselves hydrated, okay?"

Sighing in relief, they all headed towards where their bags laid and grabbed their water bottles. However, just as Yusuke took a gulp of water, he saw Ryuji staring at him.

"… What's wrong? Have you never seen someone drink water?"

He watched as Ryuji took a deep breath and ask, "Yusuke, is something bothering you?"

"The only thing which is bothering me right now is you, Sakamoto."

He sighed. "I'm being serious here, Yusuke. What was with that phone call earlier?"

The blue-haired man groaned as he shoved his water bottle back into his backpack. "It was just some rotten con artist who tried to scam me, okay? You don't need to bother about what's going on with me, Sakamoto. Don't you already have enough on your plate?"

"W-Well, projects recently are crazy, but-"

"Then focus on that shit instead, will ya? Come on, Sakamoto. That kindness of yours is just going to make your life worse. People may scam you, or beat you up for putting your nose into other people's business! Take my word for it."

Ryuji huffed sadly as he shook his head, then he popped the cap off his own water bottle and took a sip of water.

* * *

"Woohoo! And we're done for today!" Makoto cheered loudly as the group stepped out of the set room. "What are you guys planning on doing after this?"

Ryuji replied with a chuckle, "I'm pretty sure you guys know that I'm going to help my father out at his stall as usual."

Yusuke turned to Ryuji in shock. "What? You're not gonna chill after everything we've done today? Holy crap, I don't know if you're filial, or just stupid..."

Futaba pouted a little. "Yusuke-Senpai, that's a little mean, don't you think?"

Haru sighed. "It's probably the former, Yusuke..."

"There you are."

Hearing the familiar voice, the group of them turned to face Aiko Namakura, who was glaring at them in a horrifying way, yet somehow still smiling. Strutting towards them, she seethed, "So you are the ones who tried to ruin the modelling exchange, huh?"

"Oh, right. We've all heard about it - your nail polish got ruined, didn't it? We've all heard about it from Mika..." Makoto giggled darkly.

However, she stared back and replied sarcastically, "Miss, this ain't your argument. Please stand back for a moment."

"You-!"

Ann suddenly stepped in and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Makoto, stop. Don't get angry at her."

Makoto groaned. "Come on, Ann! You're too tolerant and soft about this! No wonder she was able to step all over you back then!"

"And… I don't think I'm planning on letting that happen anymore."

Glancing back at her best friend, Haru gave the blue-eyed girl a reassuring smile as she mouthed, "Go for it, Ann."

Smiling back wryly at her, Ann stepped forward, causing Aiko to give a huff and taunt, "So you finally decide to step out and own up? I knew it... Of course it had to be you of all people."

"... Aiko."

"But why? We knew each other for so long, so why did you do it?" Aiko pretended to ponder before she snapped her fingers. "Oh, I see how it is! It's because of that incident with poor Hitomi, that's why you hate our school, is that it? How could you do such a thing, Ann-chan?"

Akira sighed internally as Aiko pretended to cry. "I thought you were better than that, Ann-chan! I didn't know you were so... despicable!"

However, there was a sudden shout from the other side of the hallway. "Despicable? I think YOU are the despicable one, Aiko Nakamura!"

Looking forward, Ann gasped. "S-Suzui-san?!"

The rest of the group watched in astonishment as Shiho started walking down the hallway and gave Aiko a glare of fury. Standing beside Ann, Shiho stood her ground, and said,

"Convincing everyone that Ann is a thief... I know Ann enough to know that she isn't like that! Because of you, Ann had suffered so much during the term you guys are here! Why did you hate her so much? Did she do anything to offend you?!"

Her arrogant smile vanished instantly, expression switching into one of hatred. "She doesn't belong here."

Ann was at a loss for words. "Wh-what?"

Suddenly, she bursted in frustration, "I said you don't belong here, bitch! It's because of people like you, that's why our country's culture is being decimated!"

Yusuke snapped, "'People like her'?! Get your facts right, Nakamura! Ann here's still half-Japanese! Plus, what the hell's with discriminating against others just because of their race?! I don't care that you are a girl. I can assure you that won't get away with bullying her like this!"

Despite his yell, Aiko chuckled darkly and mockingly. "Oh, but she isn't fully Japanese, is she?"

"... So what?"

Ann's quiet voice suddenly stood out, causing all of them to turn towards her in anticipation. Ann, whose head was previously lowered, raised it up again such that she was looking directly at Aiko, a look of determination now glowing on her face.

"I may be half-Caucasian, but what does that mean? Technically speaking, no one really belongs in a certain category if that's your definition, does it?"

Ryuji nodded. "That's pretty true - our ancestors came from everywhere around the world. Who knows how many countries do we really belong to?"

Makoto chuckled a little. "Usually, I hate Science, but I agree with you on this one."

Meanwhile, Ann continued with her stand, "I must admit: I do look different from everyone else. So what? It's not like I can please everyone, can I? There are already people who like me just the way I am, so why I need to care about those who don't? I was so stupid back then. I totally forgot about the people by my side, supporting me everytime I feel down! But that doesn't matter anymore - I've finally come to a realisation that there's no way I can please everyone, including you, Aiko!"

Her nemesis gritted her teeth. "So you've finally changed, huh? Not bad, but I don't care. Your appearance is enough to eradicate out culture. Is that not what we've been trying to avoid?"

"This is a modern society, Aiko Nakamura. We need to learn how to adapt and accept other cultures into our world. You're just acting inflexible, you know?" Shiho explained before she grinned in a slightly mocking way and asked, "Or could it be that you're just jealous of Ann, that she gets to wear all those trendy clothing while you only get to model kimonos?"

The entire group stared at Shiho in astonishment, jaws dropped and eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Meanwhile, Akira started laughing madly as he added, "Do you need some ice to that burn? Or perhaps polish to get rid of those scratches? Oh, I forgot - your polish was long ruined, wasn't it?"

Steam poured out of Aiko's ears as she seethed, "You know what, fine. If you want to continue like this, I can't care anymore. I don't need to spend my valuable time on pieces of useless trash like all of you."

Turning back, they watched as Aiko quickly disappeared down the corridor before bursting into fits of laughter.

"Oh my god! Great job, Ann! You did it!" Shiho cheered happily.

Futaba was smiling, but she still looked a little worried. "But... did we go a little too far? I mean, she looked really mad!"

"Well, now she knows how Ann felt when she did all those things to her! Get ridiculed!" Yusuke cackled madly as he flashed his thumb down.

Goro sighed in relief. "I'm glad you remembered what I told you, Ann-darling. Just be yourself, okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. You know what? I thought about it for a long time. I had enough of trying to change just to please everyone else. I have you guys by my side!"

"But still…" Ryuji sighed and turned to his friend. "Akira, what was with those puns…?"

Akira simply gave a huge smile and shrugged his shoulders. "For fun, I guess! But that beat down you gave Aiko was awesome, Ann!"

Suddenly, Ann felt herself being pulled into a hug by Haru, who breathed out, "I'm so proud of you, Ann-chan! You finally stood up for yourself! You're all grown up!"

"Haru! You're not my mom!"

Makoto started giggling madly. "She kinda is the mom in our group, if you think about it!"

Shiho smiled and turned to head towards the exit. "Well, I got to go back first, m'kay? Great job today, Ann! I'll see you tomorrow in school!"

"W-Wait! Shiho!"

The way Ann had called Shiho stopped her dead in her tracks. In surprise, Shiho stepped back to face her once more. Walking briskly towards the ponytail girl, Ann stopped right in front of her and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"L… Listen, Shiho, I'm really sorry about yelling at you and Ryuji that day. There's really no excuse for me to do that, yet you still came over to defend me. Thank you so much for always being there for me, and I'm sorry about not realising that you were always by my side all along!"

However, Shiho's eyes were still blanked out. Ann gulped in concern and regret as a small frown began to grow on her face. Could it be that…

"Ann… did you just… call me by my first name?"

"Um, what?"

Suddenly, Shiho screamed in what seemed like joy and wrapped Ann into a huge bear hug, causing Ann to freak out. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! You're really starting to call me by my first name! That's a huge achievement for me, Ann!"

Still in shock, Ann stared at her in a dazed manner as Shiho removed her arms around her and grinned back. "But for now, I got to go back! My parents are waiting for me to go home for dinner, after all! See you tomorrow in class! I hope we'll have fun filming for Persona 5 later!"

Watching Shiho's vanishing figure and following the entire cast out of the school, laughing and cracking jokes with each other, Ann felt a smile begin to grow on her lips. She had just gained another friend who will always be there to support her whenever she needed it, just like the rest of them.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Whoa, 32 favourites and 46 follows?! Thank you guys so much for your support! This is currently the most number of favourites and follows that I have right now based on the number of chapters I have posted! :) (Mostly because I suck at writing HAHA) But anyways, sorry about not posting so often! I'm trying my best to write out more chapters, but I'm currently having a Writer's Block for this story, so..._

 _But moving on, Ann's arc has been completed, and now we'll be moving on to our favourite delinquent in this story, Yusuke Kitagawa! His secret will be revealed in this chapter._

 _There will not be any extras in this chapter, but don't worry, I'll begin to upload some more extras starting next chapter! There will be more than just bloopers, and we'll also be able to see them play some random games that do not have anything to do with the storyline as well._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"... Hello? Oh, Ohya-Sensei, what is it?"

Resting in his room back home, Yusuke laid under a goose-feather duvet on his bed as he held his phone to his ear, listening to whoever was talking to him. Surprisingly, the delinquent's room was incredibly neat, tidy and a couple of furniture from designer brands decorated the room. An intricate, shimmering white costume hung on a hanger attached to the closet.

"… Yes, yes. I've been practising for the competition…It's currently going fine. … Huh?! Um… I… "

Suddenly, he fell silent, and his hand froze halfway in the air as he was about to reach for another piece of honey-glazed cookie. Yusuke's bored expression immediately hardened into one of seriousness and slight sadness as he continued to listen to Ichiko Ohya on the phone.

"… Yes, Ma'am. I'll do my best to get the performance for the Gala section of the competition ready as soon as possible."

As he ended the phone call and locked his phone up once more, Yusuke groaned in dismay and flopped onto the soft, plush bed, running his fingers in his hair such that he was pulling it.

"God damn it! What the fuck am I supposed to do right now?!"

Sighing in frustration, Yusuke removed his hands from his head before turning his head and looking down at the plate of honey cookies. He raised his hand, reaching for one more, only to remember what Mishima had remarked about his habit.

 _"Nah, I'm just surprised, because of the stereotype that girls are usually the ones who like sweet stuff."_

Gritting his teeth in fury, Yusuke let out another loud groan of irritation as he squeezed his eyes shut and rolled over to the other side such that he wouldn't be tantalised to eat those sweet, sweet cookies again.

* * *

As Akira watched, he couldn't help but smile in joy for his friend. Ann was beginning to look much happier, and was also starting to hang out more with Shiho Suzui. It was definitely a huge development, and was also for the better.

"Whoa! Come on, Shiho! You can't be serious!"

"I'm not kidding! He really did say that! Can you believe it?!"

"Well, and Ann's finally cheerful all over again," Goro remarked with a light laugh as he made his way towards Akira. "It's nice to see her laugh like this."

Akira nodded. "Yeah. She's definitely changed for the better. For her, confidence is the key to stand up for herself, after all."

"Mm-hm. Oh, by the way," Goro said as he turned to his friend. "Are you planning on doing any stand-up comedy skits on stage anytime soon?"

The bespectacled boy shook his head. "I doubt it. I'll probably wait and do my best to fit myself into the school as much as possible first before I even try to perform onstage in front of a live audience again. Currently, it's just uploading YouTube videos on our family channel so that our fanbase would at least be entertained."

"I see…"

"AKIRA! ANN! GORO!"

SLAM!

The classroom door suddenly slammed open and Ryuji crashed into the room, a concerned look on his face which glistened with sweat. Panting madly, he stopped in front of them as he asked, "Have you… Have you guys seen Yusuke anywhere?!"

Ann cocked her head to the side. "No…? Did he skip remedial again?"

He nodded and sighed as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… He escaped morning remedial again, and Shibata-Sensei said that I had to go find him since I'm his study partner for that lesson… Makoto-Senpai already knows about this and is on the lookout for him, but so far, there's no single clue about his whereabouts."

Goro frowned. "Are you sure you've search everywhere, Ryu-chan?"

Ryuji bit his lip. "Well… There is actually one place that I didn't search… But I didn't because if he was really there, it would be kind of embarrassing for him to realise that…"

Akira stared at him with a weirded-out expression. "What kind of thing would he be doing for him to feel embarrassed?"

"Oi! Sakamoto!"

Loud, rushing footsteps echoed on the floors of the school, and Yusuke dashed in with a panicky look on his face. "Why the hell did you get Niijima hot on my heels?!"

"You were late for remedial, Yusuke! I had to get her help to find you since she's usually able to detect you!"

"Oh my god, are you serious, dude?!"

Suddenly, Makoto strode in with a slight swagger as she slapped Yusuke's back and laughed loudly, "Ryuji, I'm not a dog to help you sniff this buddy out, ya know!"

"Thank you so much, Makoto-Senpai…"

She laughed even louder than before. "Aw, cut it with the honorifics, will ya?! Just call me Makoto! It's okay!"

Yusuke shivered in an obvious manner as he stepped out of the classroom "Yeah, yeah! Let's just go, Sakamoto! Don't want anything else to happen!"

"W-Wait up, Yusuke!"

As Ryuji stepped out of the room to catch up with Yusuke, Makoto suddenly gave a loud sigh, catching the attention of everyone else. Ann was the first to speak up.

"What's wrong, Makoto?"

She brought a hand to her head as she looked back at the blonde with red eyes. "Something seems to be bothering Yusuke. Don't you guys feel it?"

Akira shook his head. "I'm not quite close with Yusuke, so um… not really."

She slowly nodded. "I can understand why. I mean, I've been hanging out with Yusuke for a pretty darn long time. But anyways, his behaviour today just seems a little… strange. He isn't eating anything in his leisure time for once."

"Is that not okay? I mean, he could be trying to change for the better."

"It just seems weird that he would suddenly change," Makoto remarked before she sighed once more. "Maybe I'm just imagining things, huh? Oh well... I'd better head back to my class too. See you guys later at filming!"

As Makoto turned to leave, Akira couldn't help but feel as if Yusuke was really trying to hide something from all of them, and that if revealed, it would change their entire perspective of him.

* * *

Sitting in class, Ryuji tapped his pen on the table as he listened intently to his teacher's lecture on Trigonometry. Yet even as he listened, he soon found his mind slowly slipping off to an incident which had happened recently.

 _A few days ago…_

 _Ryuji stood outside the male washroom as he listened intently to what was going on. Yusuke had just went in there, probably to speak to the guy on the phone earlier._

 _"Didn't I tell you not to call me when I'm busy with filming?!"_

 _Another voice; an unfamiliar voice rang out, "Oh, but you don't seem to be busy, since you managed to find time to come here to meet me."_

 _"That's cuz you forced me to come over, damn it!"_

 _"You better watch your manners, Yusuke Kitagawa. If you don't treat me with some respect, I'll expose your dark secret to everyone in the school. Let's see here… what do you do for club activities…? Oh, right! No wonder you're such a sissy in the first place! It's because you d-"_

 _"Shut up, Yamamoto! Don't you dare!"_

 _"Ho, so now you're threatening me, when I am the one who's got the evidence? Well, I don't mind! I'll just post this video, and then the entire world can see just how much of a sissy you really are!"_

 _"… You…"_

 _"Well now, I'm just here to tell you that your deadline for the money is due next week, got it? You'd better pay up, or I'll have to just share it online and everyone can see your performance! Plus, you are a rich kid in school, after all. There should be no problem getting 100,000 yen from your parents, should it?"_

 _Ryuji gasped softly. Yusuke was being blackmailed? But what for?_

 _"Fine. I'll pay up next week! Now, get lost, I need to go!"_

 _Upon realisation that Yusuke was leaving the bathroom, Ryuji quickly made his escape back to the set._

 _-End of Flashback-_

Ryuji groaned softly in concern as he clutched his head. That Yusuke… always so problematic! Not only does he have to tutor Yusuke on every single subject a couple of times per week, but he also has to bribe Yusuke with the desserts that he can whip up just to prevent him from running away or smashing out of the window like he always does! Why can't Yusuke just stay well-mannered for once?!

Yet there was something about how Yusuke's loyalty towards his friends that seemed to cause Ryuji to want to be friends with him.

"Ryuji, what is cosine (90 degrees - A)?"

"Wh-what?!" The blond-haired boy gasped in shock and sat up, scrolling through the questions on the board through his glasses. "Um… 7/8!"

The female teacher nodded in approval. "Not bad. I guess you were listening in class, after all. I thought you looked rather dazed out for a moment."

He breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god that his brain was always active and alert! As he relaxed and continued to lean on the back of the seat, he couldn't help but think back to that incident once again. Subconsciously, his brown eyes travelled towards the blue-haired boy, who had long conked out on his desk and was softly snoring away.

"Yusuke… what exactly happened to you?"

* * *

"Ugh… Finally! Lessons are over!" Akira watched Goro sigh dramatically as he tossed his papers into the air and stretched out. "Mmm…"

He stared at his friend. Recently, it seemed that Goro has been rather tired everyday, and he was feeling worried about him. What could have happened to him?

Concerned, he asked, "Hey, you look really lethargic recently, are you okay?"

Goro laughed in what seemed to be a slight bitter tone. "Nah, I'm fine. I'm just tired after so much lecturing from him yesterday…"

"'Him'? ... Oh, you mean..."

He nodded. "Yeah. Or should I say, my biological father. He and Mom divorced a long time ago after they felt that the relationship just wasn't right for them. Have your forgotten about Masayoshi Shido?"

Ann whirled towards them in shock. "Hang on! Your father is the veteran of the media industry?! That sounds so awesome! But…"

Goro looked back at the girl and chuckled. "Judging by your expression, I assume that you're wondering why my father had left even though he was so famous? Well, I guess you can say it's because my family's a soap opera."

Akira mused, "Soap Opera… Wait a second. What on earth happened? How did I not know about this back then?"

"Long story short, he was originally married to my mom before he divorced her and married another woman. I didn't tell you because it was something Pops wanted to keep under wraps," he explained before sighing once more. "Sorry, it's just that I don't feel like talking about this for now."

"Nah, it's okay. I'm pretty sure you don't wanna speak about him either."

"Alright, I'm going to take a break and head over before the Mob arrives," Goro said as he stood up. "I'm heading over to the greenhouse to hide and relax for a moment. Care to join, Akira?"

Ann pouted. "Hey! What about me?!"

"Sorry, Lady Ann, but I can only bring in one friend at a time. See you tomorrow," he chuckled as he headed out of the classroom. "Come on, Akira! Let's go!"

As the two of them headed out, Ann grunted in frustration before she slammed her hands and stood up as well. "I'm not gonna give up on some desserts once in a while! Come on, Shiho, let's go get crepes!"

"W-Wait! I thought you were always a health nut?! WAAAH!" Shiho could only scream as Ann began to drag her out of the classroom.

* * *

"So your parents are well and all, right?"

Akira nodded as he started to giggle at the memory of his parents. "Yeah. Still as eccentric as before. Bu that's why I love them."

Goro smiled. "Still, those videos your family upload online are pretty hilarious! It wasn't like how you all used to perform on stage, but it's still funny, nonetheless!"

"Really? I'm just happy that I can make people laugh sometimes... even with those puns. By the way, Goro?"

"What is it?" He looked back at his friend with curious eyes.

"How do you keep an idiot waiting?"

"I don't know, how?"

Suddenly, Akira stared down at his watch. "Crap! I just realised that I have to go home right now! I'll tell you tomorrow! See ya!"

As the black-haired boy quickly sped past him, Goro had a look of confusion on his face. Then it hit him.

"OI! You come back right now, Akira Kurusu! Forget my compliment about you guys being funny earlier!"

Guffawing madly as Goro began to chase him, Akira yelled down the hallway, "Can't take back your words once you said them, though!"

"H-Hey, Akira-san!"

He came to a pause when another voice caught his attention. "Ryuji? Oh, you're with Futaba too!"

Futaba nodded as she looked back at him through her huge glasses. "Y-Yeah. I asked Ryuji-Senpai to teach me some materials I couldn't understand... Apparently, Yusuke-Senpai was also supposed to meet him for some remedial, but..."

Ryuji placed his phone back in his pocket as he asked, "Have you seen him? I couldn't contact him by phone - it was on 'Do not Disturb' mode. It seems as if he's been going missing after school hours most of the time for a couple of days now..."

Goro stroked his chin. "Hm... that's worrying. Yusuke-chan usually doesn't act like this. Have you checked his usual hideouts?"

"Been there, done that," he sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "But there's no sign of him anywhere."

"We were planning on searching for him around the school, but we don't know where to start..."

"Hey," Akira suddenly turned to Goro. "You've known Yusuke for quite a while, haven't you? Do you know where he could possibly be?"

Goro closed one eye. "I... actually do. But I don't know whether our dear Yusuke-chan would be happy when we find out about his little secret he's been trying to keep."

"He had left quite a ton of his homework back in class too... or it's more like he's trying to ditch doing homework, so I got to return it to him to ensure that he does it," Ryuji added as he raised an entire file of worksheets before he sighed. "This file isn't even his..."

"Well, if you insist, I can't stop you," he told them as he began to walk down the corridor. "Come, I'll show you where he is."

* * *

"Isn't this the Performing Arts building? Wh-What are we doing here?"

Goro smiled at Futaba. "Well, Futaba-darling, Yusuke's club happens to be one of the performing arts, just in case you want to know."

"Y-Yusuke-Senpai's in a Performing Arts Club? That's awesome...! I didn't know that!"

"He is indeed very talented, but... he feels that his club activity seems too feminine to let anyone know about, so he isn't very comfortable with it."

Akira raised an eyebrow. "He finds it too feminine? But shouldn't everyone be free to do what they like?"

Ryuji bit his lip. "Is that why he's being blackmailed?"

The entire group froze and paused their paces. "What...?"

"Do you guys remember that time when we were practising parkour for the Palace scenes? Yusuke had a call from someone demanding money from him, and had quickly excused himself just so he could meet that guy. I suspect that he may have been blackmailed by that person..."

Futaba gasped in shock. "B-Blackmail...? That's...!"

Akira blinked. "I never knew that someone like Yusuke would end up getting blackmailed..."

Goro nodded upon hearing the news. "Hm... this may be an even more serious issue than I thought. To think he'd want to keep it a secret so much that he would get blackmailed about this... But let's not get distracted. We need to go and find him."

As they continued to walk down the empty corridor which caused their footsteps to echo through the silence, Goro suddenly turned to the way towards the dance rooms. As he peeked through the windows, he smiled back, "Here, if you're curious about how those dancers train, take a look. We can proceed to find out which studio he is in later."

Curious, the remaining three of them peeked through the one-way glass, only to see a tall and lean shadowy figure stand on pointed toes before it began to turn, another arm and leg beginning to stretch out in the most graceful way they've ever seen. Choral music echoed in the room as the figure leaped, doing a perfect split in midair before falling down and landing gently.

Futaba was staring with eyes shining. "Wow... that's beautiful..."

Ryuji nodded. "That is really incredible."

The figure continued to twirl, before raising its hands up into the air and then putting them down in a swift motion. With a couple more jumps and spins, the group continued to watch as it slowly began to conclude its performance. Akira pouted. "What? The performance ended already?"

However, it was then when the group heard a female voice say, "Good job! Perfect as always!"

Suddenly, the rest of the lights in that studio flickered back on, and the three of them gawked in shock. Futaba could only breathe out the word, "Whoa..."

"H-Hang on! Hold the phone!" Akira began to hack for a moment before he took another deep breath and exclaimed,

"Yusuke's a ballet dancer?!"


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Note: I may not be able to post new chapters this coming week or the week after, because it's the exam period for me. Unfortunately, it's also the reason why this chapter is shorter than usual. I ho_ _pe you guys can understand._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Futaba coughed. "So the reason why he was being blackmailed... is because of his passion for ballet...? I... I don't see what's wrong with liking ballet..."

Ryuji tapped his pen on the table. "I guess it's because people think of him as a delinquent, so it would cause major embarrassment of they were to know that he likes something as graceful as ballet? But that's beside the point. Now, analyse this and tell me what you can infer from it."

The group was sitting in the canteen as usual, since Ryuji still had to teach Futaba Literature for her remedial. As Futaba continued to underline key points in the passage, Ryuji also started writing some how-to's on analysing literature passages, poetry and other proses for her. Meanwhile, the other two continued to chat quietly to prevent disturbance.

"Hm, I guess Yusuke's really trying to keep himself on his toes..."

"... Oh my GOD! Akira!" Goro screamed as he started laughing both in hilarity and in exasperation. "Your freaking puns...!"

"Hey guys!"

Suddenly, Ann quickly stepped forward, a huge, half-eaten crepe in her hand. "I bought a crepe and came back to get something, and you all are still here? I thought you guys would've gone back by now since there aren't club activities today!"

Ryuji nodded. "Yeah... but Yusuke and I were supposed to have remedial and he decided to ditch it for club activities instead, so..."

"Oh..." Ann nodded before she quickly leaned foward and whispered, "Hey, speaking of which, I saw Yusuke step out of the dance studio earlier with a leotard in his hand. Do you think he is...?"

Goro nodded. "Yeah. He's a beautiful ballerina~"

She stared at him. "Wait! He's really a ballet dancer?! No wonder he's been busy!"

Seeing the four of them stare back at her in confusion, she looked at them in a puzzled manner too. "Don't you guys know? There's apparently a national Ballet competition in about two weeks! Our ballet dancers are taking part in it!"

"Still though... Yusuke doing splits in the air in a freaking leotard..." Akira muttered before he covered his eyes. "That's a sight I don't think I can ever forget..."

"... Done!" Futaba sighed happily as she clicked her pen close. "How is this, Ryuji-Senpai?"

Silently, he picked it up and read the paragraph that Futaba had written, his blank expression unchanging as his eyes ran across the page. "... Futaba?"

"Yes?"

"You're supposed to analyse the passage and explain the key points, not paraphrase everything."

"... Whoops."

"Alright, but back to the main point..." Akira muttered before he called Ann. "Hey Ann, were Haru and Makoto at remedial or something too since they're in the same class? It's not club activity since today isn't a club day, right?"

Ann slowly nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Will it be okay for you to call both of them here? There's something we all have to discuss regarding... well, Yusuke."

A concerned frown graced across her face, but Ann nodded and quickly skimmed away to get Haru and Makoto.

* * *

"WHAT?! He's being blackmailed?! How did I not know this?!"

Makoto was raging mad after Ryuji had explained and elaborated on the incident that he had seen to them. Pacing up and down madly, Makoto heaved a loud sigh. "I swear, that guy's gonna be the death of me sooner or later!"

"Geez, Mako-chan, calm down," Haru spoke calmly. "I'm sure there's a reason as to why he allows the guy to shove him around."

"Whoa, whoa! 'Mako-chan'? You two are suddenly so close!" Akira remarked as he stared in shock.

However, Makoto simply laughed boisterously as she slapped Akira's back, causing him to rub his back in pain. "That's cuz we became even greater friends than before after our teacher asked us to be in a team for a school project!"

Futaba bit her lip. "B-But back to the topic… What are we supposed to do? I doubt Yusuke-Senpai would want us to know about this…"

Ryuji shook his head. "No, I know him too well. He doesn't like it when people try to know him a little better. He sees it as us invading his own personal bubble."

"I see…" Ann nodded. "He's the very sensitive type, huh…"

Akira sighed, "Maybe it's just me, but I don't get why he hides the fact that he does ballet. So what if it seems more like a feminine type of activity? Shouldn't he just embrace it since he like it?"

"Actually, just in case you don't know," Goro spoke up as he leaned forward, "Our dear Yusuke here takes his image seriously. He doesn't like it when people poke fun of him in any way. Haven't you noticed why he's always so ill-tempered whenever you guys start laughing at him?"

Suddenly, Akira gawked at his friend. "You mean, like that time when we all laughed at him for looking so different from his usual demeanour? Is he really that sensitive?!"

Ann sighed as she leaned back. "You'll be surprised at how sensitive people can get, you know… Maybe something happened to him back in the past?"

"We can't cancel out that possibility," Haru nodded. "But then again, we still need to figure out what our next plan of action must be."

"I say we deal some justice with that blackmailer!" Makoto grinned before she gave Ryuji a noogie, causing him to whimper in pain. "Oi, Ryu! Did you catch that guy's name?!"

"You could have asked me without trying to elbow my head…" Ryuji pouted before he continued. "Well, I did hear Yusuke call that guy Yamamoto..."

"But there's so many Yamamotos in our school?!"

Suddenly, the blond-haired boy stood up and screeched. "Oh my god! Shut up and let me finish, will you?! Geez, be patient! Anyways, based on the distinct tone of his voice, I think it's Hideki Yamamoto from Class 3-A. It's probably him, but I'm not too sure either."

Makoto stared at him in disbelief. "Whoa. I've never heard you scream like that before."

Haru brought a bent finger to her lips. "I do know that he's pretty well-known in his class for being kind of a bully, but I never expected him to do something like this…"

"But then again, there's that," Goro interrupted. "At least we have a target. Now, on what we're going to do next, we'll just have to think about it for now. What do you think, Akira?"

Shocked that Goro would call him out, Akira was jolted out of his wits. "Huh? Me?! W-Well, if you're going to be asking me… I say some of us should clock onto Hideki Yamamoto and check to see if he's really the one who's blackmailing Yusuke. The rest of us will have to check on Yusuke from time to time, but we have to ensure that he doesn't find out that we know about his club activity. I don't think anyone would want him to flare up like some volcano and cause a disaster…"

Ryuji nodded in agreement. "That's a good place to start off. We can't cause a fall out between him and us right now…" However, his voice suddenly faded off as he remembered something. "Hang on - there was that one time when Yusuke threw his entire bag of marshmallows to me before school. I'm pretty sure that it's one of those days when Aiko Nakamura was still there, and he went to 2-D to talk to Ann. Did something happen?"

Ann looked up at him with surprised blue eyes. "D… Did anything happen that day? I don't actually remember that much… Oh! I remember now! I think Yuuki-san was telling Yusuke that he was surprised Yusuke was eating so much sweet foods since it's usually the girls who love desserts!"

Goro slowly nodded as he absorbed the information. "… There we have it; the possible reason as to why Yusuke doesn't want people to know that he does ballet. Most likely, he doesn't want people to see him as a feminine type of guy, and prefers to be seen as what most people would deem to be masculine."

Makoto twirled her fringe's hair around her finger as a perplexed frown grew on her face. "Maybe I'm just being dumb here, but I don't get it. What makes one masculine and feminine? And does it really matter?"

Akira nodded as he looked back at her seriously. "For some people, the image they project is very important. I mean, just look at us in the media industry! If we end up soiling our records, even if it means us doing something ridiculous and completely unexpected that the audience doesn't like, we'll end up getting destroyed and our career is as good as dead."

"Plus," Goro added, "Sometimes, it's okay for a girl to act more outgoing and ungraceful since they get labeled as tough, but it's a little different for guys who act graceful and elegant because they end up getting called 'sissies'. Do you get it now, Makoto-kun?"

"Huh, I see…" Makoto muttered before she turned back to him with an angry look on her face. "Hey! 'Makoto-kun'?! Are you calling me ungraceful?!"

"Geez, he's just calling you tough. Lighten up, Mako-chan!" Haru began giggling.

She sighed in exasperation. "Okay, fine, Haru… Just remember that even though I fight, I do fight with style too, okay?!"

A few moments of silence passed before Futaba suddenly broke it by slamming her pen down and yelling, "Alright! Oh my god, I'm so done! Is this okay, Ryuji-Senpai?!"

Ryuji lifted up the paper and scrolled through it, smiling and nodding in approval. "Looks like you've got it! I guess I really got to make some ramen for you, huh?"

The bespectacled girl looked at him, confused. "... Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I always have to bribe Yusuke with food that I make just so that he would actually listen and absorb whatever I'm saying during my teachings, hehe. I guess you can say that I'm pretty used to rewarding him with food, so I decided to do the same for you too." He scratched the back of his head as he smiled back at her.

"...! Uh, i-it's okay, Ryuji-Senpai! You don't have to trouble yourself...!"

Makoto stared at Futaba in disbelief. "What? Are you serious, Futaba?! The food that this Home Economics Lord makes is food no one would wanna miss! I repeat, NO. ONE!"

"H-Home Economics Lord?! What on earth, Makoto-Senpai?!"

"E-Eh?!"

Ann sighed and shook her head. "Come on, Makoto, stop traumatising poor Futaba-chan..."

"What about me?!"

"You're already a Year 2, Ryuji, man up."

Goro began chuckling, "Hey, if Futaba-chan here isn't going to take up the offer... Ryu-chan, make me some delicious pancakes dripped in sweet, sweet syrup, will you?"

"NO GOD PLEASE-!"

* * *

 _"I know you like ballet, Yu-kun, but... are you sure you want people to make fun of you?"_

 _"Instead of taking over our family business, you plan on pursuing ballet, of all things? I'm disappointed in you, Yusuke."_

 _"Hahaha! Look at that sissy dancing in there! Is he being serious?!"_

 _"Maybe he is actually a girl?"_

 _"'Fess up! You're just freakin' gay!"_

 _"Such a disgrace to the family..."_

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'm not gay! I'm not a girl! What the hell is wrong with you all?!" Yusuke suddenly screamed as he flipped out from his bed, drenched in sweat. Eyes still bulged wide open, he turned to face the clock on his wall that was rimmed with gold.

"Only two a.m., huh..." Yusuke slumped back into his soft bed, the only source of comfort for him back then. Snuggling back into his covers, Yusuke closed his eyes.

Yet the drowsiness never came. His eyes snapped wide open once more as the horrendous thoughts crossed his mind again. Why was it that this social stigma had to exist? What has dancing got to do with masculinity and femininity? Why does that even have to matter?!

He thought back to his reason for always acting like such an angsty teenager. That's right... he didn't want people to call him a weakling or a sissy, that's why he put on such a facade. It was so that he could act like a tough person. Delinquents were known to be tough, weren't they? Yet as he continued to act, that Delinquent persona started to become a part of him too.

And now, he's even more afraid of people knowing that he loved to dance ballet. Pirouetting, pliéing, sautéing... Those were simple dance moves, yet he felt so much freedom as he danced under the tutelage of Ichiko Ohya, his coach who was apparently also going to be acting in Persona 5 at a later date. It was just as if he didn't need to care about anything else in the world!

And yet... why? Why did the blackmail have to happen? That fucking asshole from the Photography Club... of course, only he would be able to obtain footage of his secret that he's been trying to keep for so long!

If only he didn't have to care about his secret getting exposed... but he did. He really cared about his image very much. Too much, as a matter of fact.

Yusuke sighed in dismay as he quickly wiped the tears in his eyes away. It felt like he was on another surge of vertigo, like he was on the world's worst roller coaster, crawling up to a tall peak before plummeting down into the depths of the darkness. Except that he was forever screaming on and on as the roller coaster car kept crashing even deeper into the grounds and showed no signs of stopping.

And he didn't know what to do about it.

* * *

 **EXTRAS: Bloopers**

Congratulations, you've made it to the tenth chapter! For that, here are some bloopers for you to celebrate with!

 **SCENE: Chariot Confidant**

Blooper 1:

(Rank 4)

 _At the Ramen House..._

Ryuji: (proceeds to lift up the ramen noodles with chopsticks in hand.)

 _The ramen slips off from his chopsticks._

Ryuji: (frowns, proceeds to pick them up again.)

 _Ramen still slips off his chopsticks, but this time plops into the soup and creates a splash, causing some soup to splash onto his shirt._

Ryuji: (slaps his chopsticks down and breathes heavily in irritation.) The ramen is bullying me.

Akira and the rest of the crew: (dies laughing)

Blooper 2:

(Rank 9)

 _At another restaurant…_

Ryuji: (sits up) Oh by the way, I got a text from Takeishi. He said the track team's gonna try n' ditch Yamaguchi. They wanna start practising without him. They're trying to get their old coach back too… the one from before Kamoshida. Looks like they're finally walkin' their own path.

Akira: … Yeah, about that Tamagochi… Pfft!

Ryuji: (confused) Huh?

 _Ryuji stares at Akira (who was giggling madly) for a moment before he realises what just happened and covered his face._

Ryuji: … I just called Yamauchi-Sensei Yamaguchi again, didn't I.

Director: (shakes head) Fifth time, Sakamoto. Fifth time.

 **SCENE: Moon Confidant**

Blooper 1:

(Before ranking)

 _Mishima walks over to Akira._

Mishima: … Hey. Have you seen that Phantom Afi… Af… Afi-whatever Website?

Akira: (does a dry spit take before he starts laughing loudly)

Mishima: *sigh* My language serious sucks, man… Hey! Stop laughing at me!

Blooper 2:

 _About fifteen takes later with Mishima screwing up saying the word 'Aficionado'..._

Mishima: … Hey. Have you seen that Phantom Aficionado Website?

Akira: (puts phone back into his pocket)

Mishima: (scratches his head) I'm the one who started it.

 _Akira stares at Mishima in shock. Suddenly, Mishima steps forward and shoves his face right into Akira's, causing Akira to stumble back a bit._

Mishima: … You guys are the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?

 _Akira stares right at Mishima, forcing down his laughter, but still ends up spitting a mouthful of air right into Mishima's face._

Mishima: (stumbles back) GYAH!

Akira: Pfft-HAHAHAHAHA!

Mishima: (wiping his face) Akira, what the heck was that for?!

Director: *sigh* Cuuuuut. Let's do this again…

Mishima: … (suddenly, he face-palms) Oh my god, Akira! I finally said that damn word right and you had to ruin the take! AAAAAH-

 **SCENE: Fortune Confidant**

Blooper 1:

(Before ranking)

Chihaya: (Flips a tarot card) Yes. I've seen everything. A stream of light obscuring the sun… like an arrow tearing through the sky… I see. There seems to be new wealth in your future. Your financial fortune is looking good today. This wealth of which I speak of will come… from your house. Head home without detour, and precisely five thousand yen will await you there!

Akira: (does a gesture)

Chihaya: … (Suddenly flips her hands into the air with a happy cheer) Oh my freaking god! Yes! I actually remembered that stupid poetry-like line!

Director: … Uh, Mifune-san? You do know there are still a few other lines to say…?

Akira: (nearly dies of laughter again)

 _Chihaya flops over her chair._

Chihaya: Oh my god.

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _Hello guys! So I'm just here to tell you guys that there is another fan fiction coming right up and it is called Tricked, a Con Artist AU for Persona 5. Don't worry - I'm not planning on abandoning this story. In fact, this Behind the Scenes AU will probably be the main thing that I would be working on after my exams... other than the requests that I've been getting on Deviantart, that is._ _But anyways, look forward to it! I will probably upload Tricked after my exams, but I probably won't be updating it very often. However, I do find that it's a really interesting concept, so I really want to work on it!_

 _By the way, thank you guys so much for supporting Persona 5: Behind the Scenes! It really warms my heart to see such nice reviews from all of you._

 _This is A1t0aria, signing out!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Hello guys! I'm finally back from my exams! This chapter is a little longer to compensate for the time I had taken off this fan fiction, so I do hope you guys like it! But anyways, thank you guys so much for waiting for an update!_

 _Also, do check out my other Persona 5 fan fiction when it comes out, Tricked! It is an Alternate Universe in which the Phantom Thieves are con artists. More information can be found on my profile. Do tell me how excited you are to read it, yeah? It will probably come out some time this week or next week, depending on the amount of time I need to edit the first chapter. (It may come out as early as a few hours later, but I cannot confirm that yet.)_

 _Warning: Coarse language is involved. I'm pretty sure you guys already know why._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Stepping into the school compound, Yusuke groaned. Another new day, another day for a crapload of horrible things to happen to him again. He already had enough of always getting sent to detention, and looking at his failed graded test papers. It wasn't like he cared much, but seeing something that you fail at is still one horrible feeling, after all.

Plus, now there was that asshole Yamamoto to care about...

Walking on the concrete floors of the school, the blue-haired boy made his way towards his classroom. No one paid any attention to him, since most of the students were pretty used to that rebellious aura that he gave off. However, what stopped him dead in his tracks was when he suddenly heard some sort of commotion going on in Class 2-D.

Curious, he paused, and stopped by the classroom. Peeking his head in, Yusuke felt his eyes widen to the size of golfballs.

What on Earth were Akira Kurusu and Makoto Nijima doing?!

"WAHAHAHAHAH! Dance, Akira! Dance, Nijima-Senpai!" Yuuki Mishima was cackling madly as he circled the two of them dancing to an... eight bit version of Swan Lake...?

"Na na na na na! Na na! Na na!..." Yusuke could hear both Akira and Makoto laughing as they tried to mimic the tune on the radio on a nearby table while spinning around and falling over.

"Um, Is Kurusu-san okay?!" Shiho was giggling as she watched the little slapstick comedic performance with Ann, who was also snickering along.

Yusuke couldn't comprehend whatever the heck was going on! "What the hell is going on here?!"

Akira turned to him and flashed him a big grin. "Oi, Yusuke! Wanna join us and dance to this... tune?"

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head, still slightly stunned at the sight. "Uh... no thanks!"

As he quickly turned and stepped away towards his own classroom, Akira suddenly walked over and button mashed the radio with a disappointed look on his face.

"So much for making this remix!"

Makoto gave a haughty laugh. "Doesn't matter! We had fun even though the plan didn't work! ... And even though Ryuji ran away when we asked him to."

As Akira squatted there with sad puppy eyes, he muttered, "Why couldn't he come over and try to teach us a few moves..."

Yuuki snorted as he walked over and patted his back. "Chin up, Akira! Didn't you have fun doing the remix with me, anyways?"

He nodded back as a smile grew on his face and he stood up once more. "... Yeah, you're right! At least I had fun! Come on, Makoto! Let's continue to dance to this beat!"

Makoto then turned to Ann. "Ann, the next plan is up to you and Ryuji now!"

* * *

Recess time. As usual, he headed towards the rooftop to chill for the rest of the break. Yusuke was always the type who didn't like to be near crowds, unless they were people whom he usually interacted with. But then again, it wasn't like he really interacted with that many people in the first place...

He stood in front of the vending machine nearby. That cherry cream soda seemed really tempting... but then he remembered what Mishima had remarked that day. Yusuke shook his head. No, he wasn't gonna let anyone call him a sissy!

Selecting a black coffee without sugar instead, Yusuke walked to his hideout and sat on top of the fence, hanging his blazer over it. The image of Akira and Makoto dancing like idiots popped into his head, making him groan in frustration. That was a nightmare to watch...

Just as he was about to open the can, his phone beeped. Curious, the grey-eyed boy fished it out and took a peek at the messages.

It was from his instructor.

 _"Are you going to come for practice today? If you're feeling tired or stressed out, don't hesitate to tell me, alright? From: Ohya."_

A small smile slipped on his face. Despite everything that was happening, Ohya was always so caring of all of her students and is able to understand them well. Maybe that's why she was the only teacher whom he really respected in this school.

 _"I'm fine, Ohya-Sensei. I need to train in order to make our school proud."_

 _"But are you sure about using a different name and wearing a mask in competition? No one is going to acknowledge your achievement at this rate. You know that, don't you?"_

 _"It's fine. I'd prefer for others not to know."_

He waited for a few moments for her reply.

 _"If that's what you want, then I'll respect your decision. Good luck on the competition then, Yusuke! Continue to put in effort and make yourself proud too, alright?"_

 _"I will. Thank you, Ohya-Sensei."_

Seeing that his teacher had gone offline, Yusuke placed his phone back in his pocket. As he opened the can of black coffee, Yusuke sighed. He actually really wanted his achievements to be acknowledged, but he knew that he was going to be made fun of if he were to announce it.

If that's the case, wouldn't it be better for him to just keep it a secret? Yusuke sighed to himself once more as he took a big gulp of the drink.

He immediately regretted his decision.

"... PFFT! AHEM, AHEM! OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Yusuke cursed and coughed in fury as he spat out the dark drink which had caused a strange, unfamiliar, sickening, bitter taste to attack his tastebuds. Was coffee always this horrible tasting?!

He wheezed. That was it. He was never going to try coffee ever again. That coffee did wake him up, indeed! Just not in the way he would have ever expected!

But he couldn't let that go to waste; he had already vowed that he wasn't going to drink or eat anything sweet! No way was he going to let that idiot Yamamoto have a chance to try and do something again!

As he pinched his nose and tried to chug it down, however, he suddenly heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Have you heard that our school's ballet dancers are going to take part in a competition real soon?"

Yusuke's breath hitched. Wasn't that Ann?

"Yeah. In about a week or so, right?"

He could recognise that voice from anywhere. The second person was Ryuji Sakamoto. Why were they talking about the competition he was going to participate in? Yusuke never knew that they were fans of dancing.

"Yup! That competition! Man, I can't wait to go and spectate their performances! Ballerinas are so graceful... can you imagine the freedom they feel when they dance to their own wishes?"

"It's not just about their performances. The effort that all dancers put into their craft is something we should learn how to appreciate. Don't you think so too?"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. Ryuji was just being Ryuji, as always. He could even imagine that blond-haired Teacher's Pet push up his glasses as he said that! But what both of them said did strike a chord in him. They were right... He did feel freedom whenever he danced, and he really wanted to be appreciated for whatever he did. But then again, the world is a pretty damn unfair place. There was no way in hell anyone would appreciate a guy doing ballet.

... Or would they?

"... By the way, are all of the ballet dancers girls?" He suddenly heard Ryuji ask Ann.

"I think so? I haven't seen a male ballet dancer in our school yet... But can you imagine if there was one? Oh my gosh! That would be, like, so romantic! Can you imagine a male dancer teaching a girl ballet and the two of them holding each other in their arms as they dance together under the dim lights of the dance room? Aw...! I wish that would happen to me!"

Yusuke could immediately feel his face heat up like a ripe tomato as he begun to sweat bullets. Ann wanted to what?!

"Wh-Whoa, Ann! You're gushing! Calm down!"

"Come on! Don't you think it's romantic too? To dance with the lady of your dreams if she happens to know how to dance too?"

"I can't dance, Ann..."

"Exactly! Let her teach you how to dance! Wouldn't that be the perfect scenario? But regardless, case in point, I think male dancers are awesome! I don't get why there aren't many male dancers!"

Yusuke could feel his face burn. Was Ann being serious? Maybe he could try to impress a lady for once...

Suddenly, Ann said, "Hm? Oh, hey Yusuke! I didn't know you were here!"

... Maybe not!

Turning around with an awkward smile on his face, Yusuke greeted in a weird tone, "Uh, yeah. Hey, Ann."

Ryuji pouted. "You greeted Ann, but not me? Come on, Yusuke!"

"Ugh, fine, fine! What's up, Sakamoto?"

"Hey, Yusuke! I want to ask you something!" Ann said with a huge grin on her face. "Do you think male dancers are cool?"

Crap, of all questions, she had to ask him that one question?! Yusuke started to sweat again, but it wasn't due to embarrassment this time.

What should he say?! Should he impress her, or should he just act like the biggest douchebag in the world?! But if he said something wrong, wouldn't she be pissed off? That would be bad... but he can't risk letting his secret being known too!

"... They're fucking weird. Isn't dancing a girl's thing to do?"

Ann pouted as she frowned at him. "Aw, come on! They aren't that weird, you know!"

Ryuji sweat-dropped as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Erm... I think you may have gotten on her wrong side, Yusuke..."

Well, that sucked! But it was worth it if he had to keep it a secret... right?

That was when Ryuji noticed something. "Yusuke... are you drinking black coffee without sugar?!"

He glanced at the can in his hand and sighed. "Worse decision of my life. I should have known to just get a plain isotonic drink instead of being so god damn adventurous."

Ann stared in shock. "Wait, you didn't get the cherry cream soda this time? Are you sure you're okay, Yusuke?"

"What's wrong with wanting to try something for once?" Yusuke snorted as he chugged the rest of the can's content down and forced himself not to grimace. "Plus, I'm pretty fuckin' pissed with people telling me to cut down on my sugar intake... If that's the case, I'll show them I can take more than just diabetes material!"

Ryuji sighed. "Yusuke, once in a while is fine, just not everyday. Okay?"

Yusuke deadpanned as he turned back to his resting spot and stared into the clear blue sky, "Yes, Sakamoto-Sensei. Now, if you'd excuse me for a moment..."

"Man, there's no need to be sarcastic..."

"Sigh, ignore him, Ryuji... I guess he's just being a Tsundere..."

He could feel a vein pop. Did Ann just call him... a Tsundere?!

"But speaking of ballerinas, I do know that there are quite a couple of Prima Ballerinas from the past! Are there any whom you know of?"

"Well, I think there was Anita Polova, who was famous for performing in the ballet 'Swan Lake'?"

Yusuke stiffened and very nearly felt another vein pop. Hang on... what the hell did Ryuji Sakamoto just say?!

"Oh, I see... So she's the one who was famous for performing in Swan Lake. Cool!"

He bit his lips, expecting to taste blood. Fuck no! Anita Polova was famous for the ballet "Swansong"! Not "Swan Lake"! What the hell is wrong with that boy?!

"Yeah. It was first performed in year 1889. But it was originally a failure, according to what I heard."

Yusuke shook his head and breathed hard. That year wasn't even the premiere of any of the two ballet performances! Swan Lake was premiered in either 1875 or 1876! Swansong was premiered in 1905! The fuck is wrong with his head?!

He wanted to correct that cursed information so damn badly, but Yusuke knew better than to do that - it would blow his entire cover away! No, he had to get away from listening to that ear cancer in one way or another...

Crushing his aluminum can, Yusuke stood up and stomped on it until it became as flat as a pancake, then picked it up, washed it and tossed it into the recycling bin.

Yet he didn't realise that Ryuji was about to burst out laughing as he was telling Ann all of the hilariously wrong information.

"Oh lord, that was so cringeworthy..." Ryuji started chuckling as he covered his face with his hands.

Ann brought a hand to her chin. "But damn, he didn't fall for that one either? Yusuke's pretty strong-willed, I see..."

"Well, our trap failed. Looks like we got to count on Futaba, Okumura-Senpai and Akechi-san right now."

"True..." she muttered before she suddenly looked back at the brown-eyed boy. "By the way, Ryuji?"

"What is it, Ann?"

"I heard Makoto asked you to join her plan with Akira. Why didn't you join? I thought that it looked pretty fun..."

"I don't want to embarrass myself by dancing to an eight-bit version of Swan Lake, Ann."

* * *

Classes were finally over. Yusuke sighed in relief as he threw all of his things back into his bag, threw it over his shoulders, and started trudging down the stairs. His classroom was quite a long way from the Performing Arts building, which was a huge pain in the ass.

Oh well, what to do, when he was devoted in going for practice just so he could take the only chance to do what he liked?

However, just as he walked past the school hall, he suddenly heard piano music coming from within. He paused when he heard the keys. Wasn't that the song he was going to be dancing to in a week's time?

Yusuke couldn't help but peek in. Whoever was playing the piano was one with a huge talent; one who could bring out the emotions from within the song. His eyes widened in surprise.

Futaba Sakura...?

There was no mistake - it was definitely her, with those geeky glasses, headphones and long orange hair. He knew that Futaba was a music composer and even composed the songs for Persona 5, but damn! Was she always this good?

"Heh, isn't my daughter awesome? No wonder you can't keep your eyes off her..."

Shocked, Yusuke turned to see a well-dressed man with black hair and a goatee looking back at him. "Who-who the hell are you, old man?!"

He raised an eyebrow at the rude boy before he sighed and answered, "Come on, Kitagawa. I'm not that old. And don't look so surprised. My daughter has told me a lot about her friends, including you."

He looked at the man, then back at Futaba, then back at the man. "You're... Futaba Sakura's dad?!"

The man with glasses tipped his hat. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sojiro Sakura."

Suddenly, another voice was heard. "He's the head of the world's famous coffee company, Sakura's Beans."

Yusuke lurched back in shock. "Wh-what on Earth?! Sakamoto, you're here too?! And who's that woman with you?!"

"Tsk, tsk. That's very rude of you, Kitagawa-kun," the bespectacled lady with the shook her head and remarked cheekily with a smile that was embellished with red lipstick. "Don't you recognise me?"

"Wait a second..." Yusuke examined her face before he freaked out once more. "Are you... our main makeup artist?!"

Sojiro nodded. "My wife and Futaba's mother, Wakaba Isshiki. And yes, I know, Futaba doesn't look like any of us, but that's because I'm her stepfather."

Yusuke turned to look back at Sojiro. "Welp, you just answered that lingering question that I have."

"Oh, by the way," Ryuji grinned. "They're going to be acting in Persona 5 too!"

"Wait, what?!"

"So, back to the question," Wakaba suddenly said, ignoring the commotion, "What do you think of my daughter's music? Isn't she talented? I'm really proud of her. I think really fits a ballet dancer."

"Uh..." Yusuke quickly turned to look at Futaba who was still playing the piano before looking back at them. "I guess it's okay. It's not really my type of music. I prefer heavy metal."

He couldn't help but die a little on the inside at that balant lie. What the hell is heavy metal, anyways?! He loved classical music, especially the relaxing type!

"Keeping that stereotype delinquent profile to a T, huh?" Sojiro chuckled. "Well, if that's what you say. Are we keeping you back from anything? If not, I'd like to chat with you and the rest of the cast sometime."

The words rang an alarm in his head as he quickly checked his phone. Much to his horror, Yusuke realised that he was ten minutes late for practice. "OH FUCK BALLS! I gotta split! Bye!"

As he dashed down the hallway, Sojiro laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, Sakamoto. Guess the plan failed, huh?"

Ryuji raised a hand and smiled back. "It's okay, Sojiro-san! I'm pretty sure we're actually close to having him being comfortable with telling us that he does like ballet..."

"Heh, since we're done, I might as well treat you to some of my coffee. How about that?"

"That sounds great. Uh, is it okay if I request for my coffee to be-"

"Strong and black with no sugar, am I right? Heh, you're really constant with your coffee, you know. And you don't need to thank me - I should be thanking you for always tutoring my daughter whenever she needs help."

* * *

"Wh-what?! We're really going to go with that soundtrack for the gala?!" Yusuke sputtered in horror as he stared at the schedule for the competition.

However, Ohya was giggling a little as she replied, "You've always been dancing to songs about unconditional love for a long time. Don't you think you should try to show off something a little different for once? I mean, you do it pretty well, you know..."

"B-But this...! I don't know, man..."

"Loosen up, Yusuke," Ohya smiled as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I know you can do it! If you really don't want to, though, that's fine too."

"N-No, it's okay. I'll do it," Yusuke replied as he stood up. "I guess I'd better leave now. Dad doesn't like it when I stay back to continue to practice..."

"Okay, then. Take care, Yusuke!"

Yusuke quickly got out of the studio before Ohya saw his reddened face. Why that soundtrack, of all things?! He wasn't used to showing people that type of style at all, even though he had been trying it out for quite a while!

He groaned as he brought a hand to his face. "Hip swaying and other sexual innuendos... this is going to be the biggest embarrassment of my life. Thank god no one else is going to know about this..."

Quickly skimming down the now-empty hallway, Yusuke could feel his heart thumping like the clacking sounds of his shoes hitting the tiled-floors. He just hoped that he would be able to take the embarrassment when that day comes.

Just as he was walking past the club rooms, however, someone suddenly rushed past him, causing Yusuke to yell in surprise when he accidentally slammed into the girl.

"AH! Oh, it's you, Yusuke! Are you alright?"

As his eyes adjusted, Yusuke raised an eyebrow in recognition. "Okumura?!"

"I didn't expect to see you here this late," Haru remarked as she bent down to pick up the drafts that she had dropped. Seeing that the papers had flown everywhere, Yusuke decided to help her out.

However, his body paused once again when he saw one of the designs of Haru's outfits. Yusuke's eyes scanned down the intricate designs of the ballet outfit that the girl in the pink sweater had designed. What a fantastic masterpiece...

Would it be weird if he were to tell her that it is something he would like to wear for a performance?

"Do you like it?" Haru asked with a soft smile, but Yusuke could tell that she was excited. "I'm really proud of that one. I guess it's thanks to Ann that I've been hooked up on designing ballet costumes recently..."

He frowned, trying to add on to his cover. "... It looks like a fucking glitter bomb just exploded on it. What are you talking about?"

"That's how ballet costumes work, don't they? I know some of the costumes do 't glisten that much with gemstones and all, but I decided to try going for intricate, you know?" Haru explained.

"Huh, if that's what you like, I have no words," Yusuke shrugged as he handed the papers over to Haru.

"I know you just roasted my design, but thanks for helping me out," she smiled back at him. "See you tomorrow at filming, Yusuke. We're filming a few Palace scenes and some of your Confidant scenes, right?"

He nodded. "Yup. Anyways, I'll be going right now. Catch ya tomorrow, I guess."

As he hurriedly sprinted down the corridor, Yusuke immediately headed for the front of the school gate. Did that conversation take too much time such that his father was going to be pissed off?

Meanwhile, Haru looked at him with a disappointed look before she sighed. "He's evading every single thing we've planned out for him."

* * *

Sitting at the back of the car which was being driven by the family's chauffeur, Yusuke flipped through his social media wall, and came to a pause at the picture of Akira and Makoto dancing horribly which was posted by Yuuki. He groaned. What a horrible nightmare that was...

"Is something wrong, Yusuke?"

Yusuke shook his head. "No, Dad."

Yet the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off... What the hell could have sparked this strange Ballet Craze with everyone whom he had interacted with? Could it have been the word that the Ballet dancers of the school were going to participate in a national competition?

Yusuke prayed that it was the competition, and not something else, that had caused this to happen.

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _"Anita Polova" is a reference to Anna Pavlova, who was famous for performing the ballet "The Dying Swan", hence the reason why the ballet that Anita performed was called "Swansong"._


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _My performances in real life are coming up, so I may not have a lot of time to touch on this story for a while. Let's just pray it doesn't happen!_

 _I must admit, this chapter is really serious and certain conflicts are starting to turn up... I have to warn you that there's a high chance that this chapter is going to be a huge downer._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"Damn it, none of our plans worked at all!"

Makoto huffed in irritation as she gulped down her can of isotonic drink before slam-dunking it into the trash bin nearby. The group was hanging out at the canteen as usual as they reported their results on their plans which they had tried to pull off the previous day. Unsurprisingly, none of their ideas worked.

Akira sighed as he turned to his friend. "Goro, you're the last man standing. You haven't done anything yet, right?"

Goro nodded. "Yes. However, for my plan to work, we'll have to wait for quite a while. You guys should try to come up with something first, because what I'd do is probably our last resort. I cannot tell you whether it can really work or not."

Ann sighed as she remarked sarcastically, "Yeah… about that."

"Well, Yusuke is indeed far more stubborn than we realised," Ryuji nodded. "That means we'll have to revise our plans."

Futaba bit her lip worriedly. "How will we be able to let Yusuke-Senpai know that he should just be himself...?"

"There's no knowing what he's truly thinking," Haru added. "Plus, we still don't know what happened to him which would cause him to have such a mindset."

"By the way," Ryuji suddenly lifted his head up from his laptop and told them, "I've checked on Hideki Yamamoto, and it seems like we've found our target."

Ann gawked. "What? How did you do that?"

"Well, I bugged his phone and broke through the firewall of his phone. There's a video of Yusuke's practice performance in there, along with recent call logs showing that he had been calling Yusuke," the blond boy told them as he turned his laptop around and showed them what seemed to be the contents of the perpetrator's phone. "I'm pretty sure this is enough proof."

"Whoa... you're like a real-life Oracle from Persona 5, Ryuji!" Makoto grinned before she burst into a fit of giggles.

"That moment when someone fits the role better than you do..." Futaba sighed and shook her head.

"Come on, Futaba. You do a really great job acting as Oracle yourself," Ann smiled back.

"Alright," Ryuji said as he quickly plugged everything into his thumb drive, "So what's the plan now, Akira-san?"

Akira deadpanned, "There's no plan. Have you not realised that everything had been thrown right out of the window?"

Haru giggled. "Right. Wasn't the plan earlier simply to keep an eye on Yusuke before we do anything else?"

Makoto groaned and crashed onto the bench. "... Well, we messed up, big time. Now what?"

Akira shrugged. "The only thing we can do right now is to wait for classes after this break to end and head to the set for filming afterwards."

* * *

Yusuke sighed as he gelled his hair down for the role. Still looking like a eccentric fuckboy, as always... Sometimes, he did wish that the company would give him the role of Skull instead.

Now that he thought about it, why did the company give him the role of Fox, anyways? What has the personality of Fox got to do with him?

"Yusuke, you done in there?!"

He groaned in exasperation when he heard Akira yelling for him outside. "Yeah, yeah, I'm almost done!"

As he finished dressing up for the shooting, Yusuke threw open the door to the dressing room and finally stepped out into the set. Akira was already there, sitting on one of the chairs the crew had offered for the actors and actresses. The rest of them were just sitting at the other benches, away from them to prevent disturbance.

"Took you long enough," Akira grinned mischievously.

Yusuke shrugged. "So? What about it? Let's get this shit started. Emperor Confidant Rank 4, right?"

The Director nodded. "Yep! If you're ready, go on and take your places!"

He looked at the setting, and realised that the background crew had really done a great job with setting up the place such that it did make them look like they were in a park. Even the wooden boats were being held up by real water pools.

"Alright, let's do this... AAH! WHAT THE HECK?!" Akira grinned as he stepped into the boat, only to screech when it started bobbing around. Yusuke face palmed, while the rest of the cast began laughing at the joker's shenanigans.

Yusuke breathed in harshly, before he asked, "You sure you're okay?"

"Okay, I'm fine now!" Akira snapped his fingers and winked at him before stretching a hand out and smiled, "Would you like me to help you across, Your Majesty?"

He deadpanned as he crossed over and stepped into the boat, "Yeah, and let the both of us fall into the fucking cold water while you're at it. No thanks."

Akira gave the blue-haired boy a huge pout. "Aw, come on, Yusuke! That was mean!"

"It's just an exaggeration, Kurusu," Yusuke groaned as he rolled his eyes before he looked back at a mock-sobbing Akira and sighed, "Fine, I'm sorry about that."

The two of them took their seats in the boat, alongside another wooden boat in which a background actor and actress were sitting in as characters to enhance the plot.

The Director slapped his clapperboard together as the lights came on to brighten up the set. "Alright! Three, two, one, action!"

Taking on his role, Yusuke looked up at Akira with a sketchbook in his hands. Akira's hands were on the oars of the boat as he slowly swished the two of them over to the right spot. Smiling serenely, he said, "Thank you for your assistance today. After all, it would be impossible to sketch while rowing."

On cue, Akira, as the silent protagonist, did a small hand gesture.

Yusuke, aware of what choice the player was supposed to choose for his next few lines, stared in Akira with a look of surprise. "Girl…? Does this mean you have a girlfriend…?! You should have mentioned sooner! I have missed the opportunity for a truly wonderful subject…"

He then looked back up at his friend and gave a nod. "That aside, I must thank you for your help today. This is my ideal location for my next motive."

"Look at all the ducks! They're sooo cute!"

Turning their heads towards the female in the other boat, Yusuke and Akira waited for their turn as the man continued, "Hahaha, don't get so excited. You'll fall off, you know."

Yusuke nodded in approval. "Hm… Perfect. This is it."

Akira looked back at him with such an exaggerated confused look on his face, Yusuke had to force himself to keep his laughter down. It was a good thing that Akira's back was facing the camera…

Looking back at the bespectacled boy, he continued before he started to chuckle, "My previous painting captured only one aspect of the heart: desire. As such, I was unable to arrive at a truly authentic representation… That is why we have come today. I shall paint a second aspect… the burning passion between man and woman! Fittingly, our theme today will be… the wonders of love!"

He couldn't help it—he wanted to laugh so damn hard! But he mustn't! "Alright, calm down, Yusuke… You can't laugh right now…! This three-minute scene is supposed to be a full one-shot take!"

Yusuke quickly glanced down at his sketchbook to hide his smile as Akira faked out an exasperated expression. "You will have an important role to play here today as well. While I draw, ensure the boat remains as steady as possible amid these devilish ripples."

As he sketched, he could tell that Akira was giving him 'triggered' look just so that he would burst out laughing. No - he had to resist the temptation of looking at Akira's stupid expressions on his face or he'll burst out laughing!

"Ah… this angle… Incredible! He he he he he…"

Yusuke started to laugh again… God damn it, why did it have to be so stressful? He just couldn't help himself! But it seemed like the Director didn't mind, because he didn't hear anything from him.

The scene continued, in which it was revealed that actually, the two of them were siblings, and that Fox had misunderstood it as a romantic type of love. Yusuke internally sighed in relief, knowing that the scene was going to be over soon and that they could take a break.

Smiling back at Akira, he said in a slightly more cheerful tone, "I feel as though I've learned something new today!"

Akira nodded back, and that was it - not many lines after this!

It was then when the girl turned towards them on cue and gasped, "Wait… so only couples ride these things, right? That means those two…"

He knew that she was supposed to say that line, and proceeded to react…

 _"'Fess up! You're just freakin' gay!"_

Yusuke felt his motions slow as his eyes widened in horror. Those words…!

 _"Instead of taking over our family business, you plan on pursuing ballet, of all things? I'm disappointed in you, Yusuke."_

 _"Hahaha! Look at that sissy dancing in there! Is he being serious?!"_

The 'brother' turned towards the girl and shushed her quickly. "Shh! There are people from all walks of life here in the city."

"Oooh, tell me more."

 _"Maybe he is actually a girl?"_

 _"Such a disgrace to the family..."_

Yusuke's entire body froze, and felt as if ice was coursing through his veins. Cold sweat slowly began to form and drip from his forehead. He felt ill. What was this…?! He couldn't react at all…!

Those harsh words continued to echo loudly in his head, like a giant bell ringing so loud that it hurt his ears and his brain. Yet for some reason, he couldn't move. He was petrified, as if he had literally turned into stone.

Everything around him faded to black. Even the sounds around him seemed to have vanished into thin air. The only thing he could hear to tell that he was still alive was his own heartbeat, which was thumping wildly in his chest like a bongo drum. However, even that didn't snap him out of his horrific trance. That's right… he was a huge disgrace to everyone else, that's why he had to hide the fact that he danced! He had disappointed his father, worried his mother, and become the giant laughingstock of his elementary school!

He was a huge failure… He was a huge, useless, fu-

"Yusuke, YUSUKE! Wake up!"

Yusuke gasped as looked back up at a panicking Akira Kurusu, who had his hands on his shoulders. Staring into his eyes, Yusuke soon realised something.

Was this the first time he had seen Akira look so afraid?

"Are you okay, Yusuke?! You looked like a goldfish with those eyes!"

Still panting, Yusuke quickly nodded. "Y-Yeah, I guess I'm fine. Sorry, I fucked everything up again, didn't I?"

Akira groaned. "Don't worry about that for now! You looked like you were about to pass out and fall right smack into the water! Have you really not realised that we had pulled you out of the boat?!"

"Huh?!" Yusuke quickly swept his gaze around only to realise that the rest of the case were surrounding him, with worried looks on their faces. Looking down, he soon saw that he was sitting on one of those chairs for the actors and actresses. "O-Oh, I didn't notice…"

Suddenly, the Director stepped over. "Kitagawa, this isn't going to work well. If you're seriously ill, you should get some rest. Suddenly breaking out into a cold sweat isn't very normal, you know."

Yusuke gasped before he shook his head. "I'm fine, Director! I can continue. I can redo the scene if you want me to!"

However, the Director shook his head. "But I don't want you to, Kitagawa. The health and condition of the actors and actresses are much more important than the progress of the scenes we have filmed in the game. I need you to rest and calm yourself down, because I don't know what triggered that panic attack of yours."

His breath hitched. Did the Director just said that he had suffered from a panic attack…?

Ann stepped forward. "Yusuke, did something happen recently?"

Yusuke shook his head. "Not like I can remember anything at all… How long have I been in a daze?"

Makoto sighed and tapped the side of her head. "You've been in that weird trance for at least ten minutes…"

"T-Ten minutes?!"

Yusuke could barely believe what that girl had just said. How the hell did time pass so fast? Ten minutes… just what the hell is wrong with him?

No… He knew. Those words that were hurled at him in the past still haunted him like a plague. It didn't matter what he did - there was no way he could ever forget them. It may sound cliché, but those words had hurt him like a knife to the heart. No one seemed to have noticed, though.

"Kitagawa, I'd advise you to go home and take a short break. We can always redo this scene in the next few days whenever you are free."

"B-But I'm not free on any days except for today!"

The Director looked on curiously. "Why is that?"

"Because-" Yusuke's mouth snapped shut. No, he couldn't announce that he was taking part in the Ballet Competition, could he? That would just wash all of his efforts down the drain, and that would be the end of him!

"Oh!" Ryuji suddenly quipped in. "I forgot! Our common tests are coming up pretty soon, and Yusuke has some remedial with the teachers too!"

Makoto groaned. "Oh my god, Ryuji! Did you have to remind us?!"

"B-But it's true!"

Yusuke stared at Ryuji in surprise and horror. Would the Director accept an excuse like that?! But somehow, the Director seemed to take that as an excuse as he gave a nod.

"I see. Don't worry, Kitagawa. We'll do our best to adjust the schedules, then. It shouldn't be a problem if we can finish a few more of the other confidant scenes with the other characters of the game whose actors and actresses are here with us now. Go on, have a break."

Seeing that he had no choice, Yusuke sighed and picked up his bag. "Yes, Director."

As Yusuke left, however, the rest of the cast gave each other concerned glances, knowing that something wasn't right.

* * *

"This is bad, isn't it?" Haru sighed. "This is turning out even worse than I had thought."

The cast had finished filming all of the Chariot Confidant scenes and a few of the Lovers Confidant scenes, so the Director was able to find time to squeeze time into the after-exam period for Yusuke to film the Emperor Confidant scenes. Thankfully and fortunately, Ryuji and Ann were capable of memorising their lines so quickly.

Futaba nodded sadly. "We don't even knew what was the cause of Yusuke-Senpai believing that the social stigma includes everyone around him. And it isn't true - we all don't mind the fact that he actually does what he loves. In fact, we love him as a friend for that, don't we?"

"Yeah, but I doubt he would be the kind to even listen to us!" Makoto huffed as a frown creased on her face. "Should we even really be doing this?! It's his own choice, after all! If we make one wrong move, that's it!"

Goro nodded. "Yes, it is his own choice, but we should at least try to give Yusuke-chan a little push such that he can decide if he is comfortable with showing who he really is inside."

Makoto shook her head. "Alright. I want to help my friend too, and I don't wanna give up on him, but this is getting a little too far. Let's see, alright: We know who Yusuke's blackmailer is. We know that Yusuke's having trouble with accepting what he likes. If the second one is harder to deal with, shouldn't we be dealing with Hideki Yamamoto first?!"

"First of," Ryuji began. "How are you going to deal with Hideki Yamamoto? Sure, we could turn in the evidence to the teachers, but that's going to get more than a few of us in trouble - bugging someone's phone is an offence!"

Ann whirled around to stare in horror. "You bugged Hideki Yamamoto's phone, knowing that you may get in trouble if you were found out?!"

"That's because I wasn't expecting to turn these information in! If no one knows about this other than us, there's no way the bug would be found out!"

Akira pinched his nose bridge before placing his glasses back on. "Alright, guys. Calm down! This isn't getting us anywhere at all! If you guys continue to argue, there's no way we would be able to even help him!"

Suddenly, Makoto stood up and screamed, "Yeah, but even when we're calm, we weren't able to come up with a plan to help him to face the fact that he needs to stand his God damn ground, Akira! Does it look like we don't want to help him?!"

"Makoto, and everyone else, stop it! Akira isn't at fault here, is he?! We all want to help Yusuke! So why are you screaming at him?"

Hearing Goro use the loud, fierce voice he only used in acts for his Drama Club, a hush fell upon the group as they all looked at each other. That's right. They all wanted to help, but this case is so greyed out, no one really knew what to do. There was no black-and-white in this. It was like an equation too complex to solve, with Yusuke's unknown feelings and expectations tossed into it.

And they didn't know what to do.

Yet in the midst of the silence, no one heard the sound of footsteps slowly walking away.

* * *

It has been a few days, and Ohya was getting really concerned. Staring at her messages, she continued to spam one of her slightly more problematic students.

"Yusuke… Why haven't you been turning up for practice…? Wasn't this competition so important to you?"

She placed her phone down and sighed as she pushed up her tinted glasses. He hadn't replied for a few days then. There were only four days before the competition. If he didn't practice, all of his efforts to win the competition would have been in vain!

What really happened to him?

Sipping on the cherry cream soda, Ohya continued to mark the Language homework papers in front of her. After all, she wasn't just a Ballet instructor for the school. She still taught other subjects, contrary to what other students knew.

As she continued to streak the papers with red ink, Ohya jolted when she heard a beep coming from her phone. Quickly picking up the phone, her eyes scrolled through the one and only reply she had received from her student. Her eyes widened in horror as her phone fell onto the table.

"Wh-What…?! But why…?!"

Written on the reply speech bubble from Yusuke was,

"I'm sorry, Ohya-Sensei. I'm quitting Ballet."


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Let me tell you, I seriously DID NOT expect myself to actually write such a solemn part for the previous chapter. The only thing which was planned was when Yusuke had a panic attack during filming, but I never actually thought about writing the argument and him quitting ballet until I was actually writing the story on my document. In short, I was pretty god damn shocked myself._

 _But don't worry, I'm not planning to end his arc on such a sad note._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Yusuke quickly stashed his phone into his pocket as he walked out of the school gate towards where the car was waiting. He had made his decision. Though his heart felt heavy when he did just that, he had to do it. There was no way he could get through with this… not especially when people knew about it already.

How?! How the hell did they find out about what he did?! Did they happen to pass by the studios, or did someone tell them?!

"... God damn it, it must've been Goro Akechi, that Drama Queen!"

However, as he moved into the car, he sighed. There was no point putting the blame on anyone, and he still had to deal with Hideki Yamamoto. Yusuke had the 100,000 yen ready and was planning to give the money to him in two days time, but he didn't even know if Yamamoto was going to destroy the evidence of him practising ballet with Ohya-Sensei...

Yusuke actually felt bad for his teacher - she seemed genuinely worried about him! But what's done is done. He didn't even know if that was the right choice... but did he even have a choice back then? He wanted to break free from those voices, break free from that burden which was weighing him down!

Plus, he didn't want to cause a conflict between the group. It just wasn't worth it. Those angry screams he heard were enough for him to want to do something about it.

Despite that, somehow, he felt so, so empty.

"You're spacing out again, Yusuke."

"What?" Yusuke turned to his father, who was already looking right at him from the front seat.

His father sighed and shook his head. "Are you sure you're alright? You have been looking very listless for the past few days."

"I'm... fine. Just tired from everything happening in school."

"Yusuke, your common tests are coming up. You mustn't fall ill. You're already repeating a grade, and I don't want to see you deprove any further. Understand?"

"... Yes, Dad."

No one seemed to have been able to tell just how controlling his father actually is. Of couse no one would be able to tell - he always appears so God damn dignified whenever he speaks to others just so that he could give a good impression of himself to others! He had to do that, because he was a big boss of a company!

But even if he is a big boss, does that really give him the rights to be so controlling of his son's life? Yusuke knew that his father did it for him - after all, the popularity of Ballet performances have been dwindling recently, especially with the rise of Hip Hop, Street Dance, and the likes. Of course, including the fact that he was a guy doing Ballet, he wouldn't go very far with it!

Yusuke hated it - why did such a social stigma have to exist? He wished he could just be like Ann and finally accept the fact that not everyone can be pleased, but now he really knew how Ann had felt when she was discriminated against by some of the students in the school.

It was so, so painful.

* * *

"No way... Ohya-Sensei, are you serious about that?!"

Makoto stared at Ohya in horror as the teacher fiddled with the glass of orange juice she had in her hands. Sighing sorrowfully, she looked back at the tomboyish, hot-headed girl.

"Niijima-san, I'm telling you this because I know that you're a good friend of Yusuke. I'm seriously at a loss right now, and I really don't know what to do..."

Makoto shook her head in disbelief. "B-But why would Yusuke suddenly...?!"

"I don't know, either. He never told me why he would suddenly have a change of heart."

Change of heart... Makoto could only chuckle internally at the irony of that sentence.

"Then... would you happen to know why Yusuke doesn't want others to know that he likes to dance ballet, like you told me?"

Ohya nodded. "As a matter of fact, I do."

A look of determination crossed Makoto's face as Ohya said that.

"Will it be okay to share it with the group of us who want to help Yusuke?"

* * *

"Yusuke told me about what happened to him at one point of time during practice. It all started back when he was in elementary school."

The rest of the cast were sitting around the benches as they listened intently to what Ohya had to say.

"Ever since young, he always loved ballet. Even before elementary school, he loved to dance to his heart's delight. Even so, he long knew about the social stigma in the world around him, so he was a little reluctant to tell his parents."

Ann nodded slowly. "So he's aware of that even as a child..."

"However, one day, his father found out that he was secretly taking ballet lessons from the ballet teacher back in his elementary school, and Yusuke was forced to stop taking Ballet lessons since his father really disapproved the performing arts. He still tried to practice at home, but his plan backfired when his passion for ballet was found out by his friends who wanted to give him a surprise visit. His reputation plummeted overnight. People started to call him sissy, or even insulted him by cracking homosexual jokes." Ohya sighed as a reaction to the incident.

Haru frowned in displeasure. "Those are some really immature kids..."

"The thing is, Yusuke's love for ballet never faltered, even if he had to keep people from knowing about it," the teacher closed her eyes before she opened them and looked back at them. "So I really don't know why he would suddenly quit. It could be the fear of people finding out, or maybe he wanted to give up under the pressure that his father was giving him. His mother, Sasaki, never stopped him, but was worried about him getting bullied by everyone else."

Akira pondered for a moment before he screeched and stood up. "... Or did Yusuke somehow figured out thay we knew about his hobby?! Think about it! We were arguing about what to do on the day he suddenly collapsed!"

Futaba whirled around and stared in horror. "Th-Then maybe he would quit, because he didn't want another repeat of that incident!"

Ryuji ran his fingers through his hair as he breathed deeply. "This is bad... if he had quit because of us, then... Hang on."

Everyone turned to look at Ryuji, whose face had slowly contorted into one of shock. "Do you guys think that he had quit, because he didn't want us to fight over his case?!"

Ann raised a brow. "Would Yusuke be someone who would do that?"

Makoto nodded. "Despite his aggressive nature, Yusuke's the kind of guy who doesn't want to cause trouble for the people who he cares for. And as much as he wouldn't admit it, I think we all know that Tsundere really cares for us."

"He's secretly a cinnamon roll, that Yusuke-chan," Goro chuckled. "So, what's our group's plan right now?"

"There's only one thing we can do right now..." Akira began and looked at everyone.

They all nodded at each other. They had to go and personally speak to Yusuke before things become even worse.

* * *

Her sneakers trudged on the terrain as she continued to train herself during her evening run. With swear running down her face, Makoto panted heavily as she forced her legs to continue to run. It was a free day for her that day, so she was able to use the rest of her free time to run and train in the park.

Thoughts flashed through her mind as she ran down the path. How did she not notice how troubled one of her closest friend was? Yusuke may always seem to be dissing her, but she knew better!

Why the heck was she so useless?

As she slowly made her way towards the exercise corner and grabbed the pull-up bars, Makoto sighed listlessly.

"Are you going to be okay, Mako-chan?"

"What the-?" Makoto quickly spun around, only to realise that Haru was sitting at a bench not far from her. "Oh, hey Haru. What's up?"

"Just getting some inspiration from the scenery in this place," Haru smiled back serenely as she lifted up her sketchbook. "I've always liked to come here to cleanse my mind a little. Just continue your training regiment. I shan't bother you."

Makoto nodded as she took a deep breath of air before pushing on her biceps and lifting herself off the ground. "One... two... three..."

Even as she did her pull-ups, however, she couldn't help but let her mind wander off. Just what on Earth was Yusuke thinking, quitting somwthing he loved just like that?! There was no way she was going to forgive him if he was going to just give up like that!

Or maybe this 'black and white' equation isn't really like all she thought. She may think that one should just do what they love, but it's just her own opinion. Maybe it's Yusuke's own emotions and thoughts that is turning this equation so grey.

"Hey Mako-chan?"

"What's up?" Makoto asked as she let go of the bars and let herself drop towards the ground.

Haru closed her sketchbook, looked right at Makoto and asked, "Why is it that you train so hard in martial arts?"

Makoto rubbed the back of her head as a sheepish smile grew on her face. "To be honest, I guess it was Goro's mom that inspired me to want to become a herione."

She looked on curiously. "Akechi-kun's mother?"

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, Kazuki Akechi. She's one of the veterans of those action films, and she looks so cool everytime she beats up the bad guys!"

"Ah, not following in your sister's footsteps, I see," Haru chuckled lightly.

"Nah. Sae's pretty awesome as a lawyer fighting for justice in those law films, but I really love the action parts, y'know? I gotta admit, I admire my big sis and all, but I really prefer to act as someone who gets to smack all those criminals and give them what they deserve," she grinned back. "It's the reason why I went to audition for one of the action movies that's coming up: The Dragon. I hope they choose me to play the heroine!"

"Your sister must be pretty proud of you."

The red-eyed girl cackled loudly. "No way. Compared to my Sis, I'm a useless pile of trash. I'm not earning any big bucks yet for my family, unlike her."

Haru raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Don't call yourself that, Mako-chan..."

"Heh, don't worry about that, Haru! I can assure you that I'm gonna make myself useful once I graduate!" she grinned back cheerily as she lifted her water bottle to her lips to take a sip. "Or, I'm gonna do that right now, to be exact. I'm gonna make sure that idiot Yusuke changes his mind about giving up his passion for ballet!"

The auburn-haired girl glanced at Makoto for a while before she smiled and chuckled once more. "Still as determined as always, aren't you?"

* * *

Akira groaned in dismay as he sat up from his bed. Checking the clock, he sighed once more upon realization that it was only one in the morning. Insomnia was starting to kick into him ever since that incident with Yusuke, and he had no idea how he was supposed to curb it.

"Yusuke... Just what exactly is going through your mind?"

Tomorrow was the day the entire group was going to confront him, but despite being the so-called 'Leader', Akira felt vulnerable and unprepared. It was as if he couldn't do anything to bring his friend back from going down a path he may regret... Well, technically speaking, it wasn't that bad, but ditching what one loved just to please the others isn't worth it.

What could he say once he goes to face him? Yusuke was such a stubborn guy, Akira wasn't even sure if he could convince that boy to listen to them once!

The weather was slowly starting to get warmer. Indeed, they were already halfway into Spring, and their tests were coming up. Akira shook his head, pulled the covers off himself and flipped himself out of bed. The door creeked as he stepped out of his bedroom and into the living room.

As he made his way into the kitchen to get a glass of juice...

"Can't sleep, Akira?"

"What!" Akira heard a voice which spooked him out! Yet as he whirled around to see who it was, he sighed in relief to realise that it was just his mother. "Oh, hey, Mom."

Mrs Kurusu, or better known as Akemi Kurusu, smiled softly at her child as she redid her bun in her hair. "I just finished up organising some of the schedules for our performances. We may be able to perform on stage pretty soon, maybe even after your tests."

Akira's mouth curled into a wide grin. "I see... that's fantastic! We can perform on a stage again just like before! ... Oh, but..."

"You have something on your mind, don't you?" Akemi chuckled as she poured herself a glass of juice. "Well, if you'd like to talk, I'll be at the dining table."

The black-haired boy quietly tailed behind his mother as he sipped on his orange juice. The two of them say opposite each other on the chairs.

As she swirled her glass of juice around which caused a clinking sound with the ice, Akemi opened her brown eyes and smiled. "So, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

Despite always being so crazy and energetic in the morning, Akira knew that after nightfall, his mother would be surprisingly calm and composed. In fact, compared to her spunky attitude in the day, she was always very gentle once day turned to night.

Akira took a gulp of the orange liquid.

"Um... do you remember the friend that I told you about? You know, the delinquent-like friend that I had?"

Akemi nodded with a smile. "Ah, Yusuke Kitagawa, was it? You have so many friends, I had to learn all of their names whenever you talk to me about them."

He gripped the edge of his glass as he continued, "The rest of my friends and I just realised that Yusuke had been hiding the fact that he loves Ballet from us. And we also found out that he's been blackmailed by someone in the school because of that. Even worse, I think he found out that we knew, and told his instructor that he was going to quit..."

"Hm... I see. And then?"

"None of us understand what he's truly feeling, but we do know that back at elementary school, he was bullied by his friends for doing Ballet, and even his father disapproves him from dancing. We really want to help him, but we don't really know if there are any emotions mixed into this equation that causes everything to be so complex... Mom, what should we do?"

His mom continued to swirl the glass of juice in her hands for a moment, before she took a small sip and placed the cold glass back on the table. "Well, there's just one thing left for you to do, isn't there?"

Akira was dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"

"You want to help Yusuke, but what can you do about it since you and the rest of them don't know his reasons for quitting ballet from himself?"

His mouth snapped shut. It was true. They didn't know the true factors that had caused Yusuke to suddenly quit. All they had done up till now was to guess and speculate.

"So... you're telling me that I should go and ask him why he had quit in the first place?"

She smiled back softly and replied, "That is for you to decide, my child."

* * *

"I guess that means that when we confront him today, we'll just have to ask him directly. We can't just keep telling him not to quit," Haru muttered when they heard about the entire conversation that Akira had with his mother.

Akira nodded as he gently pushed up his glasses. "Mm-hm. My mother's explanation does make a lot of sense, so I thought that I should tell you guys about it."

"But speaking of which," Ann suddenly asked, "Where's Yusuke?"

"You called?"

Makoto sighed and smiled when Yusuke started walking towards them. "Speak of the devil."

Yusuke stopped in front of them, then he asked, "So what did y'all call me here for?"

Akira took a deep breath, then he stepped out and said,

"Yusuke, we need to talk to you. It's regarding you quitting Ballet."

The blue-haired boy snorted and turned around. "So it's about this, huh? I knew it. You all know about it."

"We just want to know why you don't want to do Ballet anymore, Yusuke-chan," Goro replied with an eye closed. "Maybe we'll understand if your reason is valid."

However, none of them expected Yusuke to snap so quickly as he roared, "Valid?! What kind of fucking reason is valid to people like you?! I bet it's you who blabbered to them about what I do for my club activities! Why the hell did you do that?!"

The brown-haired boy looked at Yusuke calmly before he sighed. "Look, Yusuke-chan-"

"Don't you dare call me that again, Akechi."

Goro pinched his nosebridge. "Alright, fine. Look, Yusuke. There's no point in hiding what you did if people like Hideki Yamamoto know about it already. Even if he doesn't upload that video, who knows if someone else will get their hands on it? You'll never know. We don't want you to be burdened by the fact that people can blackmail you for doing what you like. Do you get it now?"

He stared at them in disbelief. "How did you guys know about that too?! Just how much do you know?! Who told you?!"

"W-Well, I found out just as I was heading to the washroom that day..." Ryuji's voice faltered off as Yusuke turned his attention towards him.

"Oh... I see. No wonder you were looking at me so weirdly that day!" Yusuke breathed deeply in irritation before he started to turn to walk away. "Don't try to stop me - I have already made up my mind."

Ann suddenly yelled out, "B-But Yusuke! Isn't ballet your passion for your entire life?! You can't just give up on it because there are people who don't accept it! I've been there before, and you know it!"

They all watched as Yusuke paused his footsteps, and Ann hurriedly continued, "There will always be people who do not like what we do. We can't blame them - people have different opinions! Yet despite all this, there will also be people who love us for who we are, and for what we do! There's no way to please everyone... so why can't we just do what we wish to excel in?"

"... Do you really think you understand me?"

Blue eyes blinked as she was taken aback. "H-Huh?"

Yusuke turned towards the group the face them, and they gasped when they saw the fury in his eyes.

"Discriminated against by strangers is one thing. Of couse you can't please everyone, and I know that! But when you are looked down upon by even the people close to you?! That's something I don't want to go through again! Of course I do wish that my father would allow me to do Ballet, but would he allow me to do so when Ballet is starting to fade out of existence?!"

"F-Fade out of existence?! That's not true, Yusuke-Senpai!" Futaba yelled out desperately. "There are people out there who appreciate the performing arts too, not just people who want everything to be new!"

"And how many people is that, exactly?!"

The entire group fell silent. Yusuke glared at them before he sighed. "As far as I know, not many people appreciate us, despite our efforts in our performances. Just look at artists - do you think they get appreciated for the artworks that they produce? If you ask me, right now, people simply just look at them and appreciate them for being a part of a recognisable brand because they can't truly understand the true emotions and the efforts that these people have put in!"

Haru frowned. "You aren't quite accurate with that. There are some people out there who actually do appreciate the performing arts and other creative activities. Maybe you just haven't come across them."

He shook his head stubbornly as he began to walk away. "Save it! I don't need to hear you guys trying to force me to back out of the path that I chose for myself!"

As he vanished down the corridor, Makoto groaned and slammed her head against the wall in exasperation. "Why does he have to act like such a lost cause?!"

"No, actually…" Goro suddenly said as he stepped out, "I think I may have found a way to convince him to continue with his passion for Ballet."

The group all looked at him in confusion, but Akira could tell what Goro may be hatching in his mind.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! Anyways, the next chapter will be a little wacky, so do brace yourselves for some crazy things to happen! With that, this is A1t0Aria, signing out!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Well, this chapter did take quite a while to complete! Yusuke's arc will probably end in the next chapter. (Just in case you guys want to know, Makoto's arc has actually already started in the previous chapter.)_

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Ann sighed. "So... is Yusuke really not going to take part in that competition anymore?"

Makoto groaned as she pulled put a few tickets and tossed then onto the table. "To think that Ohya-Sensei would have bought these for all of us... God damn it, what a waste of money."

"She went to buy tickets for everyone?!" Ryuji shrieked as he pulled up one ticket. "B-But it's a National competition! Each ticket is 2000 yen!"

"Students get a discount, not to mention that we are from Shujin," Makoto replied as she stretched herself over two benches. "She only paid about 600 yen per student, and she did say that she wanted us to enjoy the performances. But what's the point when Yusuke's not even gonna be there?"

Haru nodded. "She's trying her best to get everyone to appreciate the art of Ballet too. That includes Yusuke, who appreciates it, but is losing his passion in it."

"Speaking of which," Akira suddenly quipped in as he looked around. "Goro did say that he was going to do something about that, which is why he's not here. I wonder what his plan really is?"

"Someone else isn't here too," Ryuji noted. "Where's Futaba?"

"She's busy with her Music course," Haru said as she raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you know? Makoto and I are only here to watch you guys film your parts with Kamoshida-Sensei, so the rest of us are actually excused from coming over."

"Oh, right. I totally forgot about it."

Ann remarked sadly as she placed a hand over her forehead. "We can only hope that whatever Goro's planning to do, he actually succeeds in convincing Yusuke to stop acting like this. I really don't want to keep seeing him look so sad all the time..."

"None of us do, Ann. None of us do."

* * *

"... Häns*, the composer of Sonatina in D-minor, is a baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, becoming well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. He was strongly influenced by the composers of Italian Baroque..."

Futaba sighed as she flipped through her lecture notes. As much as she loved composing and doing theory work, she had never liked learning about history. What was the point of learning about the lives of these composers when she came here to learn about the different types of music?!

Sleepiness soon began to creep in, but she forced her eyes to stay wide open. No, the Music Genius can't allow herself to be tempted by sleep if she wanted to do well!

"... And that's the end of the lecture. I hope you guys have learnt something about the wonderful composers and musicians of the past. Now, I'll send you your assignments through email tonight. Class dismissed!"

Snapping her book shut, the bespectacled, geeky girl sighed in relief. It was finally over. Just as she was about to walk out of class, however, her teacher called out to her. "Sakura-san?"

Futaba turned to the male with grey hair. "What is it, Iwai-Sensei?"

Iwai, though he looked aggressive, was surprisingly a very nice and polite man who had a deep interest and passion in the art of music. Futaba heard that he was going to be acting alongside them in Persona 5 as the Hanged Man Confidant for the Protagonist.

"Will you come to my office for a while?"

Curious, Futaba nodded and followed the man into the staff room.

* * *

"Wh-What?! Compete in the International Comeptition of Music, World's Cantate?!"

Iwai nodded with a smile. "That's right. I believe that out of all the students, you have one of the greatest potentials to do your best in this competition. That's why I chose you to participate in it. The fact that you're a musical genius is just the icing on the cake."

"B-But are you sure about this, Iwai-Sensei? I mean... I don't know if I can do it..."

"Have faith in yourself, Sakura-san. I know you can do it. It doesn't matter even if you don't win. I just believe that it would be great to expose you to different environments so you'll grow in experience and knowledge. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"... I get it, Iwai-Sensei. Thank you so much for this opportunity. I'll participate in it!"

"That's wonderful. Now, if you don't have anymore questions, you may head back home. Rest well, okay?"

Futaba nodded as she picked up her school bag. "Got it. Thank you, Iwai-Sensei."

However, as she stepped out of the staff room, Futaba could feel a strange, horrible gut feeling inside her. She clutched to her stomach as a frown creased upon her face. What was happening?

"Yo, Futaba-san!"

Shocked, she turned towards the voice, only to sigh in relief. "Oh, it's you, Chihaya."

Grinning at her little cousin, Chihaya pushed her blond hair out of her face as she slapped Futaba's back. "So you've gotten a chance to participate in the World's Cantate, I see! That's awesome news, Futaba! Let's go tell your parents about it!"

"Wha-?!"

"Come on!" Chihaya continued as she grabbed Futaba's hand, ignoring the fact that she was absolutely flustered. "We gotta go and have a feast! What more than to celebrate this opportunity, right?!"

"CHIHAYA! I don't even know if I am really going to participate! I need news from Iwai-Sensei before I can do anything!"

Chihaya's face crumpled into one of disappointment. "Aw... I wanted to tell Yuuki-chan about the news too..."

"... Chihaya, there's no need to tell your boyfriend about that."

"Come on! I'm just proud about you, y'know!" Chihaya screeched before she sighed. "Then again, I've been losing my appetite recently too. I'm so tired after having to work on so many essays."

Futaba looked at Chihaya as a concerned look grew on her face. "H-Hey, Chihaya, are you sure you're alright? You've been panting a lot recently too. Don't you want to see a doctor just in case?"

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm just really tired thanks to my stupid teacher who's been giving me so much work to do," she chuckled. "Come on, let's go home and rest. Isn't the Ballet competition in two days?"

* * *

Yusuke stared through the one-way glass of the Ballet studio, watching as the rest of the girls had their intense training to prepare for the competition in two days time. He envied them - they didn't need to put up with the discrimination that he faced when people knew about his passion.

He could still picture himself dancing on the slippery, wooden floor of the studio, gliding in the air gracefully. He loved that feeling when the air breezed past him. He loved it when he lifted his arms and allowed himself to be lifted into the space.

But he couldn't do it anymore. Not now, at least. Maybe next time, but he knew he had to hide it from his father.

A sinking feeling filled his heart. He spent so much effort on the two dances, yet he had decided to quit. It was a huge shame, Yusuke had to admit. But it was one choice he had to take if he didn't want to let his father down.

"Well, well, well! If it ain't the Ballet student, Yusuke Kitagawa!"

Frowning at the sound of that familiar voice, Yusuke turned towards the guy who towered over his already tall self. "... Hideki Yamamoto, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged with a sinister smile. "Well, I'm just here to... you know, catch up on your payment."

Yusuke sighed as he handed an envelope over to the blackmailer. "Fine. Here's the cash. Now where's that video? Delete it: it was part of the deal."

"Alrighty, alrighty, I'll delete it right now," Yamamoto grinned as he fished his phone out of his pocket and showed Yusuke his phone. Going to his gallery, he deleted the video of Yusuke practising his routine. "And the deal is done."

Yusuke frowned. "... You sure there's no catch?"

"Oh, don't worry, Kitagawa. I always fulfill my part of the deal," he replied as he placed his phone back into his pocket. "Oh, and about where the video is... it's on my YouTube channel."

Yusuke nearly felt as if a bolt of lightning just struck him. "It's on your what?!"

"On my YouTube channel, of course!" Hideki Yamamoto cackled madly as he turned back towards Yusuke. "I didn't say anything about uploading it, did I?"

"You... you fucking asshole! You said you would delete the God damn video!"

"I didn't say which video, did I? Don't worry, Kitagawa - you still have a chance to redeem yourself. I've only uploaded it just a few minutes ago, and I haven't gotten much views. If you could still spare some cash, maybe I'll take down the video..."

"'Maybe'?! That basically just means 'never', doesn't it?!"

Yamamoto shrugged as he began to turn and walk away. "Well, it's your choice, Kitagawa! Prepare to get your cover blown, then. Don't come crying to me once everyone mocks you for what you do!"

Yusuke was seething mad. Not only was he so easily fooled by this bastard, but the secret which he had been hiding for years was going to come to light! How was he supposed to accept this?

 **"Clack! Clack! Clack!"**

That was it, wasn't it? Now everyone was going to laugh at him for being such a sissy. He was going to be a huge disappointment, and it didn't help the fact that no one in this world likes to be bullied in the first place. Tht included him.

And was it just him, or was that the ominous sound of high heels loudly clacking on the concrete floor...?

For some reason, he could feel a dark aura wafting into the air, as if someone had just triggered a sleeping monster from the deep to wake up from his slumber. Yusuke suddenly felt the urge to run away from whatever it was, but...

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the blackmailer..."

Yusuke could only stare with wide grey eyes as the figure stepped out from behind a corner of the hallway and started advancing on the two of them.

"... What in the - Akechi?! What the fuck are you wearing?!"

There, standing in all of his glory, was Goro Akechi, who was wearing what looked like the red gown that the Queen of Hearts wore in Alice in Wonderland, the tallest pair of red stilettos he had ever seen, and a crown perched on his head. Goro was even weilding a long golden staff in his hands and even had makeup on his face, giving him the aura of a queen no one should mess with.

Goro turned to Yusuke and smiled, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "Don't mind my appearance, Yusuke-chan. I was just standing in for the girl acting as the Queen when I thought I heard a commotion outside. Looks like I was right..."

Hideki Yamamoto glanced at Goro for a moment before he snorted in amusement. "Heh, what do you want, Drama Queen?"

"Nothing, it's just..." Goro continued with the same serene smile on his face as he used his left hand to support the top of his staff, "Don't you feel a little ashamed of what you're doing, my dearest? You seem to be... well... a bit of a jerk, don't you think? Blackmailing people for doing what they like... isn't that disgusting?"

Yamamoto started chuckling. "Isn't that how the world works? The moment you have someone's secret in your hands, all you have to do is to manipulate that person to your own liking. That's what the big companies do too, don't they? Kind of like... your lovely father."

Yusuke gulped in horror when he saw Goro's grip on the staff tighten. Mentioning his biological father, Masayoshi Shido was one of Goro Akechi's berserk button.

"My father may be the head of a media company... but that doesn't mean he's as big of an asshole as you are, Hideki-chan..."

His eyes widened in surprise. Well, that wasn't the reply that Yusuke had expected from Goro. What he wasn't surprised at, however, was when the drag queen walked over to Yamamoto and smacked the back of his knees with the staff, causing the blackmailer to yell loudly in pain and fall to his knees. Scowling, Yamamoto turned towards Goro.

"The hell was that for, Goro Akechi?!"

"This is for bullying my friend here, Hideki Yamamoto," he replied as he stepped closer towards the tall man on the floor. "And don't even try to complain and whine to someone else. You know very well that you deserve this for causing hell in Yusuke-chan's life!"

"Akechi, that's exaggerating-!"

However, Goro ignored Yusuke. "Now, I want you to take that video down from your YouTube channel right now, on your phone. Do it. I want to see you do it. And return the money to Yusuke-chan as well."

"F-Fine, God damn it..."

Snatching his phone up, Yamamoto tossed the envelope back to Yusuke, quickly went to his YouTube channel on the app and went to the edits to his account. Seeing this, Goro quickly snatched it up, causing Yamamoto to yell in surprise.

"Who knows if you're really going to take it down if I let you do it?" Quickly, he pressed a few things on the screen, and the video was deleted from the account. "Interesting, looks like no one actually watched it yet."

Smiling, he handed the phone back as he whispered in a dark tone, "You'd better be glad that I decided not to use these red stilettos on your face."

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Yamamoto screeched before he quickly walked away, muttering, "Ugh, what a creep..."

Yusuke could only stare at Hideki Yamamoto's vanishing figure in shock. Did that really just happen? Goro Akechi deleted that cursed video of him from Yamamoto's account! But... why?

He was in a daze as Goro quickly strutted over and asked in a worried voice, "Are you alright, Yusuke-chan?"

Yusuke frowned at his cross-dressing schoolmate. "What's your motive for doing that to him?"

Goro shrugged as his playful smile grew on his lips. "You can say that I just wanted to teach him a lesson. That man has been a huge ass to many others too. No one should get away with such acts, don't you think?"

He snorted. "Huh, hypocrite. You were the one who revealed it to them. Why would you help me over such a matter?"

He watched as Goro's playful smile became one of sincerity. "Let's just say that I'd prefer it if people were to be true to themselves. No one deserves to be picked on for doing what they like."

Seeing that the blue-haired boy was giving him a look of skepticism, Goro chuckled and continued, "I know how it's like when people diss you, Yusuke-chan. I've gone through that stage in my life too. I guess I've just come to accept it and just do what I love, which is acting on a stage, regardless of the roles, you know? Anyways... you've really decided to quit, huh?"

Yusuke sighed. "Even if I regret it, there's barely a chance to turn back, is there? I mean, the competition is two days away. There's no way I'll win."

"That isn't what I'm talking about."

He turned to Goro in confusion. "Hah?"

Goro turned such that his back was facing his friend. "I'm talking about Ballet itself. Are you really going to give up on your passion just like that?"

Yusuke found himself at a loss of words. Seeing his reaction, Goro started to walk back to the Drama Club Room.

"Do what you want, Yusuke-chan, but I'd really love to see you dance in front of everyone without fear someday."

* * *

Stepping into their little apartment, crime and mystery genre actress Sae Niijima was surprised to see her little sister angrily slamming herself into the punching bag that they had at home for her to train with.

"Goodness. Makoto, are you alright?"

Sighing in what seemed like frustration, Makoto stopped and turned to look at her grey-haired sister with her red eyes. "I'm fine. I just feel really pissed off about what happened in school today. I'll tell you more about it later if I feel like it."

"It's best if you take whatever's on your chest out whenever you have to," Sae agreed before she placed her handbag down on the couch in the living room and headed to her own room. "I'll be going for a shower first. Today's been a rather long day for us."

Her younger sister nodded. "Got it."

After Sae stepped into her bathroom, Makoto paused herself from punching the training bag and wiped the beads of perspiration off her forehead. Noticing her wet and sticky shirt, she groaned again.

"Ugh, I really gotta change out of this singlet…"

Turning, the girl with the braid hairband stepped into her bedroom and shut the door. Grabbing a clean set of clothes out of her drawer, Makoto pulled off her singlet and dried herself with a towel before she stepped into the bathroom which was connected to her room. After hanging her clothes out and cooling herself down for a moment, Makoto pulled off her hairband and headed back into her room to place it on her desk.

It was then when her eyes caught that blasted letter that she had received from the school about her role in the action movie. She had auditioned for it a few weeks ago, and it didn't really have much to do with her acting in Persona 5. She took one deep breath to calm herself down before stepping back into the bathroom to shower.

Yet as the cold water cascaded down her back, it wasn't enough to cool her down from the rage that she felt. Makoto had very nearly wanted to punch the marble walls down, but she knew better than to attract the attention from all of her neighbours.

"Out of all the roles I could get, why the hell did I have to get the role of the damsel in distress…?!"

* * *

 _Author's note: *Häns is a reference to George Frideric Händel, the composer of Sonatina in D-minor in our world._

 _EDIT: Hello guys! So I'm here for some updates: Unfortunately, I won't be uploading much from now on because I'm busy with concerts and other projects. I'll try to get back to writing as soon as possible, but I hope you guys can understand. Thanks!_


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Unfortunately, I've been coming down with a Writer's Block recently, so there may be times when I can't upload once every two weeks. (it was originally once a week, but then I had to work on Tricked, my other fan fiction.) So if I can't follow my schedule, at least you guys will understand why now. But I tried to compensate by making this chapter a little longer._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"So… today's the day, huh?" Ann muttered as she tapped her pen on her school desk as a habit of hers.

It was the day of the competition, but by then, all of them had already given up on hope. None of them know what to do, and even if they somehow managed to convince Yusuke today not to quit ballet, it was too late for him to even take part in the competition that he had previously worked so hard for.

"We don't even really know what's going on in his mind," Akira added. "Goro said that he had done something about it, but is it really going to work?"

"We can only let Yusuke-chan choose what he wants at this point of time," Goro replied. "We have already done all that we can. If that boy still can't see the fact that there are also people supporting him, then I really don't know what else we can do."

The blue-eyed girl sighed sadly as she left her pen on the table. "I still can't believe that he would give up after spending so much time and effort on his routines. I don't think it's worth it, do you?"

Akira shook his head as he adjusted his glasses. "Definitely not. But let's have some faith in our friend. Maybe he had somehow decided to take part in the competition at the last minute? Ohya-Sensei did say that she had registered his name into the competition two months ago."

"Again, it really depends on what that boy wants now," Goro reminded them. "We can't force him to change his mind, you know?"

Once again, there was silence. Then Akira nodded sadly. "There really isn't much we can do. We can only hope for the best now."

* * *

"Mako-chan? Are you alright?"

Surprised, Makoto turned to Haru. "Yeah, I'm fine. Whaddup?"

Haru had a concerned frown on her face. "Because... well, you look really upset today. Did something happen?"

The red-eyes girl's mouth snapped shut. "... Oh, yeah. About that..."

Placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, Haru smiled assuringly at her. "Do you want to talk to me about it?"

"Something pissed me off yesterday and I'm still so God damn peeved at it, but I'll tell you at a later date. I'm not sure if it's comfirmed yet, after all."

"'It'?"

"... Ugh, okay! I'll just tell you. It's a role in an action movie. I got the role of the God damn damsel in distress... Let's hope it's just temporary or something. I'm gonna confirm it with the person who casted the roles tomorrow."

"Oh, I see... Well then, good luck, Mako-chan!"

Makoto smiled back. "Thanks. I probably gotta need all the luck that I can get."

Haru started to smile as well. "But anyways... are you planning to go and spectate the competition this afternoon?"

"Duh! Even if Yusuke ain't gonna perform, I'm definitely gonna cheer our school's ballet girls on, y'know!"

"Hehe, that's great to know, because I'm planning to go there too."

"Hell yeah! Let's go together!"

* * *

"Holy crap! I never imagined the place to be so damn big!" Makoto gawked as they stepped into the concert hall, which was where the competition was going to take place.

Ryuji slapped Makoto's arm with a look of disapproval. "Makoto-Senpai, that was loud! Pipe down!"

"Aw, come on, loosen up a little, Ryuji! You're always so stiff!"

However, Makoto did have the rights to be amazed at the gigantic concert hall. The acoustic properties of the hall was fantastic due to the panels hanging from the ceiling, and the entire place was lit up with small lights that look like stars in the sky. The chairs were also very comfortable, enough for someone to just sleep on.

But who could sleep when the intense competition was going on? They had to silently cheer for their team, after all.

Suddenly, Ann spoke up. "Hey, by the way, I heard that all of the competitors have to wear plain white masks just to ensure fair judging?"

Goro nodded. "Yes. But nothing is really fair if you think about it... They managed to take one factor of a wonderful performance off for the sake of judgement, but there are still other things that may cause the judgement to be biased, such as music and sometimes even body figure."

Akira snorted. "If only there were really one person who was that objective, but nah. Everyone was born with the ability to have their own opinions of certain situations, so of course judgement may be biased at times despite all actions taken."

Ryuji squinted at them through his frames. "You know, it is one reason why the Thinking and Researching Programmme was set up and promoted in our school in the first place..."

"Yeah, and remind me what was that about again, Ryuji?"

The blond-haired boy sighed and shook his head. "Why do I even bother..."

Suddenly, Makoto grabbed Haru's arm. "Oh, hey! The competition's about to start soon! Come on, let's grab our seats!"

As they nestled themselves down into their seats, the smart-looking emcee walked onto the stage with a bright smile as he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 25th Ballet Nationals competition, where we appreciate the arts of Ballet and its grace!"

A round of applause filled the hall while Akira glanced around. "Hm, there's a lot more people here than I expected..."

"Without ado, let us begin with a speech from the CEO of the organization, Mr Takeshi Nakamura!"

As another round of applause echoed in the room, Makoto groaned in dismay. "Ugh, why a speech, of all things?"

"It's standard concert and competition procedure, Makoto..."

* * *

"Thank you for that wonderful performance, Himiko-san. Now, the judges will go out to finalise the results of the competition. While they do so, the audience will be treated to a special performance put up by each of the students in this category: the Gala category, where the ballet students will not be judged for their performance, and they can be as creative as they want. These students are also finally allowed to reveal their own faces in this category. Please give a warm hand for Misaki Fujikawa!"

Futaba was staring in amazement as the dancer left the stage. "Holy crap, all of those performances were fantastic, especially the second last one!"

"Yume Kobayashi, right? Yeah, I got to admit, her performance is amazing!" Ann nodded in agreement. "Plus, she's from our school!"

Makoto placed a hand under her chin. "I thought the one who added some modern move into her routine was pretty creative, though. You know, Misaki Fujikawa? The one who's about to perform?"

"Regardless, all of them have captured the essence of each of their performances," Ryuji remarked. "This is going to be a tough fight..."

Goro chuckled lightly. "Come on, guys. Have a little faith in the girls from our school, will you?"

"Wait, who were the ballet students from our school who are competing in this? Yume Kobayashi is one of them, then Tsumugi Tomoe, then..." Akira continued to ramble on before Goro shushed him.

"Pipe down, Akira. She's about to perform."

Standing in the middle of the stage with a slight swagger, the girl who had danced a slightly modern style waited for the music to begin. Akira made a point to note that Misaki was wearing something that... didn't look like a ballet costume. With a revealing colourful singlet and tights, she looked as if she were going to a club.

Was such a thing really allowed on stage? Then again, maybe it's because it's the Gala category. There really are no limits as to what the participants can do.

The music wasn't what anyone expected either. Loud rock EDM music suddenly began playing, and the young girl started to rock it onstage, tossing her sunglasses and leather gloves off towards the audience as if she owned the stage. The crowd went wild upon the revelation of the fierce but hot features on her face.

Makoto was the first one to verbally respond in the entire group. "Holy crude, I never expected a rock performance at a ballet competition!"

Goro chuckled at the spunky girl's face. "Expect all kinds of performances during the Gea category. Don't be too surprised about anything."

"Is that how we're really gonna go by now?!"

"I mean, the best way to wow an audience is to surprise them, isn't it?"

Makoto sighed as she shifted around in her seat. "Well, guess you're right, Drama Queen. I can't argue with you. You do have the experience, after all."

As the drums slammed on the last beat and the last chord on the guitar was played, Misaki struck a dramatic and dynamic pose, flashing a wide grin towards the audience. Akira wanted to burst out laughing when he heard part of the crowd scream in excitement and the fans from Misaki's school cheering and chanting her name for her support. "She does have a lot of followers!"

Ann nodded. "Misaki's a really popular choice. I can see why, though. She's brought a modern touch to something classical. If only Yusuke actually realised how much potential he had to change the ballet world…"

Makoto pouted irritatingly. "Come on, Ann! Let's just enjoy the concert! I mean, it's a competition for the ballet students, but we're literally just here to appreciate the arts and enjoy the performances put up by them!"

"Haha, I guess you're right, Makoto. Alright, I shan't mope any further. Let's continue!"

As the thunderous applause ended, the emcee began to walk up onstage once more. "Oh my, Misaki-san really did light up the stage and excited the crowd up there with those EDM dance moves! Thank you so much for your performance, Misaki-san! And now, my goodness! Apparently, our next ballet student is planning to spice up the stage a little with the song 'The Succubus Advances'! Please put your hands together for Yume Kobayashi!"

Another round of applause echoed around the room as Futaba glanced at the rest of her friends in surprise. "T-The Succubus Advances…?! But that's a really…!"

Ann nodded back in agreement once more. "Whoa… It's pretty interesting how Kobayashi-san started off with something really emotional as her competition piece, then something this sexual as her Gala song…"

"It'll be interesting to see how she pulls it off…" Goro added before he chuckled a little again, causing Akira to turn towards him.

"Have you forgotten to take your meds again…?"

"Oh, no. I'm just high. I took some marijuana, you know what I'm saying?"

"Do you need me to bring you to a therapist to stop your addiction?" Akira continued the conversation before he started giggling himself.

"Oh my god, Akira, it was just a joke! Are you gifted?!"

"Yeah, I'm gifted, alright!"

"Shh!" Ryuji shushed them with a frustrated look on his face. "Quieten down! There are people watching you two already!"

Realising that Ryuji was right, Akira sank back into his chair and got comfortable in his seat. "Alright. Mama Bear…"

Meanwhile, Yume had already taken her place on the stage, and was decked out in a black leotard with fishnet stockings covering some parts of her outfit that had skin colour on it in contrast with the conservative shimmery white costume she had worn earlier when observed by the main judges. Akira thought it was weird that Yume didn't wear a tutu like the rest of the girls, but maybe she just wasn't comfortable with the fabric flouncing around.

The music started, and everyone could already tell what type of dance it was going to be with the slight Flamenco in the background. Yume, who still had her mask which covered the top three-quarters of her face, slowly turned towards them and licked her lips in a seductive way that gained a loud 'Whoa!' from the crowd. With hips staring to sway to the music, she twirled her hands towards the ceiling before bringing them back down, and did a spin before a split in mid-air.

Makoto brought her hands to her mouth as she stared with widened eyes. "Holy cow, that was already breathtaking!"

"Yeah, she's really graceful," Ryuji quickly added.

As the girl continued to pirouette around and charm the audience with a slight hip-sway and a look of vulnerability on her face and in her body language once in a while, Akira couldn't help but feel as if that playful look in her eyes was very familiar, and it gave him goosebumps whenever he felt that she was really seductive. Why was that so…?

As the ballet shoes lightly and elegantly tapped the wooden floor, he soon realised that his whole soul was glued and focused on the performance, as if it was the most captivating and enchanting thing he would ever see in his entire life. As the girl placed the back of her hand at her mouth such that only her shadowed eyes were visible, Akira felt a shiver down his spine when Yume gave a sultry expression towards their direction.

For some reason, he had a strange gut feeling that he was going to hate it, but why…?

Akira soon had his answer when in the middle of the performance, Yume Kobayashi twirled herself around once more, brought a hand to her mask and tore it off, using the momentum to toss the mask towards them. Ann quickly caught it, and nearly shrieked in surprise when she realised who the dancer was!

"Y-Y-Yusuke?!"

Futaba was no better when she brought a hand to her mouth and screamed out a loud, "Whaaaaaaa-?!"

Haru stared with wide eyes. "Wow…"

Akira's reaction was to only stare in shock. He wasn't surprised to see Yusuke on stage. He was shocked to see Yusuke dancing to such a song! What the heck?!

"HOLY SHIT! No wonder I thought she didn't have boobs!" Makoto gawked in amazement as she leapt back into her chair, while Ryuji could only blink furiously and slowly bring a hand to his mouth.

The only one who seemed to be enjoying it all was Goro, who was starting to chuckle madly and forcing himself to hide his laughter. "Pfft…! It's difficult to accept the truth, isn't it?"

Akira shook his head in disbelief. "We've all been fooled."

The audience seemed to be stunned by how the entire situation developed too, but somehow, they quickly caught on, and Akira soon heard girls screaming out 'Yume Kobayashi's' real name when Yusuke gave them a smirk and did his final pose onstage.

"Wow! That's a huge turn of events! I hope you don't mind me for saying that, Yume-san!" the Emcee chuckled upon saying that as he started to walk back up onto the platform while Yusuke exited from the back with a laugh. "You have really wowed the audience this afternoon with your performance, and I'm very impressed to see you being able to pull off such a role as well! Well, thank you very much for your amazing performance, Yume-san! And now…"

Meanwhile, Makoto started sniggering, "I never realised that Ann could be such a huge squealing fangirl when it came to these types of things…"

"Shut up, Makoto! Come on, guys! We need to look for him!"

* * *

Sitting in the backstage room, Yusuke heaved a sigh of relief. He had to thank his lucky stars that the dance was successful. It didn't matter if he won this time or not. Plus, it was a bonus to finally get that huge burden off his chest.

But damn, revealing everything in such a huge event as this one? Man, he was starting to become as flashy as Goro Akechi…

He had already decided that he was just going to explain it all to his father. No, he wasn't going to pursue ballet as his only interest in both passion and work, but he was going to do it as a hobby, and no one could stop him! And screw all those people who were going to laugh at him for liking ballet — he had the choice to do what he loved! His friends had already taught him that.

Plus, he wasn't alone. There were people out there who are trying so desperately to hide what they loved to do. If he, as one of those people, didn't step out to give himself and all these people a voice, who was going to do so?

Yusuke couldn't believe that he had actually decided to take this route, but after that incident with Hideki Yamamoto and Goro Akechi, he had found his answer. Similar to Ann, he wasn't going to let anyone push him around anymore! But, he also had to create his own future plans. This involved his future career, and even though it was a painful fact, ballet wasn't really that popular as it used to be back then. Sure, there were people in this day and age who really appreciate and love those who did ballet, but the numbers were dwindling madly, and he knew it.

That doesn't mean he couldn't do it as a hobby whenever he felt stressed out, though. Yusuke smiled to himself as he began to stash some of his items back into his bag.

"Yusuke!"

He took a deep breath before he sighed in response. He knew that they were going to come over to check on him.

The door burst open, and his group of friends quickly charged in. Wheezing madly, Futaba smiled as she looked at him with elated eyes, "You did it, Yusuke-Senpai!"

"Holy crap, though! I didn't expect you to actually pull of such a stunt!" Makoto cackled madly before she paused. "But will that get you disqualified since Yume Kobayashi isn't your real name and you signed up as a girl?"

"Eh, I don't really care about that anymore," Yusuke shrugged back with a laid-back smile. "At this point, it's not really about winning, but to come out of the closet. Speaking of which, what did you guys think about my performance?"

Ryuji started to chuckle lightly. "It was really amazing. Ann was squealing throughout the entire thing as if she was going to explode…"

Ann smacked Ryuji's shoulder, causing him to yowl in pain. "Stop teasing me about it already, will ya?!"

"But Makoto-Senpai was laughing at you for it too…!"

"Alright, then two smacks for Makoto too!"

"HEY! Don't drag me into the smack-fest, Ryuji!"

"Alright, alright. We got to get out of this place soon," Akira quickly notified them. "We lied to those people outside that we were delivering something to one of the dancers in the back room and just sneaked in here. If they find out that we were just chatting, they'll kick us out from seeing the rest of the performance!"

The red-eyed girl stared at Akira in dismay. "Oh, really? Shit! Okay then, let's go, guys!"

As the entire group quickly scuttled out, Goro paused for a moment and turned towards the ballet dancer. "Hey, Yusuke-chan?"

He looked back at the dramatic boy. "What is it, Akechi?"

Goro simply smiled back before he turned and walked out of the room. "Great job. You've really outdone yourself this time. And please, just call me Goro next time, m'kay, darling?"

Yusuke looked at his vanishing back before he snorted in amusement. He really had to thank that boy at some point in time for giving him the inspiration to do something like that.

* * *

"Aw, man! That was such a waste…"

Makoto blew her fringe up in frustration as the entire group stepped out of the Performing Arts building. Unfortunately, because Yusuke hadn't really been practising when he was on hiatus, he didn't get any of the top three positions. However, he did get an honourable mention, so at least he gained something.

"That isn't a waste! Yusuke did get the support of much of the audience," Haru disagreed with a soft smile. "I think you did really well today, Yusuke."

"Thanks, Haru. I appreciate that."

Suddenly, everyone stared at the blue-haired boy, who had changed into his usual singlet and school pants. With a confused frown on his face, Yusuke looked around at his friends and asked, "Wh… what's wrong? Do I look like a bucket of fuck or something…?"

Akira did a spit take as he started to laugh madly, "Yup, it's Yusuke, alright! I nearly thought you had a change in personality when you suddenly spoke like some gentleman!"

"But it would be really nice to see you acting more kindly to others," Ryuji added.

Yusuke started to chuckle. "Well, maybe it's because I'm feeling a little more relaxed than usual. Guess doing that delinquent persona took too much of a toil on me. But honestly, acting as an asshole for such a long time has already been ingrained as a part of me, so don't be surprised if I act like an ass at one second and be nice in the next."

Futaba cocked her head to the side. "But what made you have a sudden change of heart, Yusuke-Senpai…?"

Ann giggled, "Futaba, we aren't acting as the Persona 5 characters now…"

"Let's just say, Goro's words that day made me think about my actions," the delinquent smiled back at them. "I thought about those times we tried to make Ann stand up for herself such that she wouldn't get bullied by that Aiko Nakamura, and I realised that our cases do have similarities, after all. I was being a bitch that time about why her case and mine were so damn different, but when I thought about it, weren't they both about seeing beyond all those fucking haters and embrace the support you get from the rest of the people who actually do support you in what you do, or who you are?"

"Heh~ So I was the one who made you change, Yusuke-chan~?" Goro cooed irritatingly, causing Yusuke to glare at him.

"Shut the hell up, that's irritating! I may be thankful to you, but don't get too damn cocky."

He jumped back immediately with a sad expression on his face. "Eh… scary~"

"But anyways…" Yusuke sighed in exasperation before he continued, "Seeing you guys trying so damn hard just to get me to continue ballet kinda lighten my spirit up. If ballet was something I had come to hate, I would have just given up right away. But it's not, and I know that I love it. So I knew that I had to let myself be heard. At this point, I can't give a single fuck about discrimination anymore. Let them come at me if they want to, because I don't give a damn anymore."

Makoto grinned and slapped Yusuke's back, causing him to yowl in pain. "Now that's the Yusuke whom we all know and love!"

However, Ann was looking a little worried. "But… what about your father? Doesn't he disapprove of your passion for ballet?"

"Let's just say that my son has really made me proud of him today."

The group turned around upon hearing hard-bottom shoes clacking on the ground, and came to face a middle-aged man with black hair that was starting to grey out. Decked out in a rather expensive suit and with bodyguards surrounding him, Akira could tell that he was a big shot around the area.

Yusuke nodded at the man. "Hey, Dad."

Makoto went slack-jawed. "Whoa… Yusuke, that's your father?! Holy hell, how rich are ya?!"

"Yusuke has told me about his plans. I have always prevented him from taking ballet lessons because of his grades, and that Ballet is honestly dwindling in popularity just like some of the other Performing Arts. If he weren't able to get a degree and graduate from university, there's very little chance in him being able to live in such a metropolis world. Of course, it's not all about graduating and getting degrees, diplomas and masters… but sometimes, you just need to secure something first, you know?"

"I told Dad that I was going to study hard, and graduate from a university, while managing my time wisely such that I can practise Ballet as well. After all, it's like he says. I'm gonna have to secure my future too, y'know?"

Goro nodded as he took in the information. "So Kitagawa-san… you didn't allow your son to take part in Ballet lessons because you disapproved of the Performing Arts. And your reason to that is because it's dwindling in popularity and you believe Yusuke-chan wouldn't be successful in life if he were to only work on Ballet, is that it?"

Yusuke's father sighed. "I know it is unfortunate that I actually think that way, but if you really want to do well in the Performing Arts sector, you really need to be the cream of the crop. You do understand this too since you're a part of the National Drama Stage cast, don't you, Akechi-san? Being famous and earning money from these types of stage acts is not easy."

Akira heard his friend breathe out in a loud way he had never heard before. Was Goro actually… furious about what Yusuke's dad had just said?

"It's my choice: I've decided that it's best if I studied so that I can handle Dad's business in the future. It can't just go down the damn drain without someone to help with the organising later on, after all," Yusuke replied with a shrug and a smile. "Plus, I still get to do what I love."

Ann nodded in agreement. "Guess that's for the best too. There's a reason why my parents want me to at least graduate even though I'm planning to work as a model in the future."

"But anyways, enough talk about all this. How about you invite your friends over for dinner later, Yusuke?" The man laughed and patted his son's back. "After all, you did managed to appease me, and I'm really proud of your performance today. This is a thing worth celebrating. Just tell them to hop into the car if they'd like to join us for food, okay?"

Yusuke nodded, and for once, Akira saw a shimmer of happiness in his friend's eyes.

"Alright, just get into the car if you all'd like to eat some stuff, I guess."

Ryuji face-palmed immediately. "That's not how you invite people, Yusuke…"

It was a happy day, and Yusuke's father was right — it was worth celebrating about! Yet as Akira, the person at the back of the line, stepped into the car and sat beside Goro, he couldn't help but realised how silent the brown-haired boy had suddenly become.

Something in his gut feeling told Akira that he had to talk to his friend about it after dinner.


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Hello guys, I'm finally back after a long time! I'm really sorry that I can't keep up with the schedule any longer because of holiday homework and things like that, but I've finally finished this chapter! (And I may decide to add bloopers in the next chapter, so do look out for them!)_

 _Just for clarification, Yusuke's arc ended in the previous chapter, and his ending is supposed to be not that satisfying. His ending was actually intended as not just character development for his personality, but also for the plot and development of another character._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"Holy crap, this is amazing!" Makoto marvelled as she bit into a hunk of juicy stake, then squealed in joy. "Yusuke, tell you chef this steak's the best I've ever eaten!"

"I've never expected you to be this rich, though," Haru giggled lightly as she delicately sliced off a small piece of meat on her plate.

Yusuke smirked proudly. "Amazed? You gotta thank my Dad for our fortune, though. He's the one who's able to afford this damn building because of the shitton of money we have in here."

Goro shook his head in disapproval. "Tsk, tsk. Flaunting your wealth here now, aren't you? Think about the feelings of other people, Yusuke-chan."

Yusuke turned to Ryuji, who had already slid away from his chair and was exploring their bungalow like an excited child with sparkling eyes. "... Oh, right. Whoopado."

Ann started to chuckle. "He's usually the mature one in our group, but now, he's acting like an adorkable kiddie."

"Hm, but it was nice of Kitagawa-san to give us our own time to bond with each other, though. I never expected that."

Akira looked at his brown-haired friend and frowned a little. Goro was chatting with the rest of them as per usual, but something about him seemed off despite the fact that he was still using his flirtatious tone. Akira knew Goro for too long - too long to immediately realise when something was wrong with him.

But he couldn't really worry much about Goro now, not when something suddenly cropped up again at the dining table.

"Futaba, are you not hungry?" Makoto frowned when she saw the orange-haired bespectacled girl poking at her steak with her metal fork.

She shook her head. "I'm not too hungry today... I'm sorry. If you want, you can have my steak."

The red-eyed girl placed her fists on her hips and pouted. "Geez! Come on, Futaba! You need to eat! Where else are you gonna get your muscles to work?!"

"Some people just have small appetites, Mako-chan. Calm down," Haru whispered as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, but then Makoto whipped her head towards her.

"But it's still not healthy, is it?!"

"W-Well, then is it okay if I have a box to bring it home, Yusuke-Senpai? Maybe I'll get hungry later..."

The blue-haired boy nodded. "Don't see why not. I tell Chef that you wanna bring it back home."

As he stood up and began walking towards the kitchen, Ann quickly turned towards Futaba. "Futaba, do you not eat very often? Is that why your build is so small?"

"It's exactly because my build's small, that's why I can't eat much," she replied with a shrug. "Don't worry - I've always been eating little ever since young. I'll be fine!"

"Well, if that's how you've been living, then I guess it's okay," Ryuji replied as he started to walk back towards the table. "It's not very easy to immediately change eating habits, and it may bring up some health problems too. I think we'd prefer to avoid that."

"Then I guess there's no point in harping on that," Makoto nodded as she flopped over the back of her chair, then lolled her head towards Ryuji and grinned. "How was your house tour?"

"Oh, it was fantastic! This entire building has three floors! The floors are all either shiny marble or wooden except for the living room which is made of lush carpet, and there are diamond chandeliers everywhere, sparkling like thousands of stars in the sky! Most of the furniture here also have designs made of gold, and the picture frames are..."

Ann stared at her rambling friend with exhausted blue eyes before she face-palmed, causing Akira to giggle at the sight. "Oh, great. You brought out the property agent in him."

"I'm back. Futaba, here's your box."

Futaba nodded gratefully as she accepted the beautifully decorated box. "T-Thanks, Yusuke-Senpai! I'll make sure to wash this and return it to you!"

Yusuke waved a hand. "You don't need to do that. Just keep that box - we have plenty here. And just call me Yusuke. I'm not used to people calling me 'Senpai'."

Ann clapped her hands together cheerily. "That was an awesome dinner though! What are we doing next?"

Akira snapped his fingers as a grin grew on his face. "Oh, yeah! Right! We can stay a little longer here since there's no school tomorrow!"

However, surprisingly, Makoto shook her head. "Haha, sorry, but no. I got to go home early cuz I need to go to school tomorrow. If y'all wanna stay here, go on without me."

Yusuke looked at her in confusion. "The fuck are you going to school on a Sunday for? Are you crazy?"

"I gotta bargain with the director to give me a different role for that action movie. You know, The Dragon?"

Ann looked up in surprise. "The Dragon? I remember the producer of that show coming to our school to audition the students here! Did you get a role?"

Makoto nodded before she groaned, "I did, but it sucks! I'm acting as Akagi Maya, the god damn damsel in distress and love interest! Why the hell would they give me such a crappy role?! I can't even do anything that fits my personality! At least let me be the sidekick or something!"

Ryuji frowned a little. "Calm down, Makoto. Maybe the role isn't as bad as it seems..."

She slammed the table in anger and seethed. "It is, Ryuji! The scene that we all auditioned for consists of the placeholder Akagi Maya begging for the main character to save her after she was tortured by the bad guys! You think I'll take this shit lyin' down?! 'Cuz I sure ain't gonna do that!"

The entire table went silent. Makoto took a deep breath before she sat back down. "Sorry guys, I got too carried away. I'm just really pissed at what happened."

Haru patted her friend's back and smiled back. "It's okay, Mako-chan. We understand."

Yusuke nodded as he twirled the fork in his hand. "Gotta admit, I'd probably be fuckin' pissed if I were to get a role like that too."

"Heh, there's no need to comfort me, but thanks guys," Makoto replied as she gave them one of her trademark smiles. "But anyways, I really need to go now. Gotta rest early for tomorrow, you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, go ahead, Makoto," Ann nodded as they all waved to the girl who was proceeding to leave, "We'll see you on Monday!"

* * *

"Oi, Goro!"

The brown-eyed boy stopped upon hearing his name being called and turned around only to smile when he saw who it was. "Oh, Akira! What is it, hun?"

Akira ran and quickly caught up to his friend as the two of them walked towards the subway station. "Is something wrong?"

Goro looked in confusion before he started chuckling. "Uh... Akira? You were the one who wanted to talk to me, and then you ask if there's something wrong. Shouldn't it be me asking that?"

The bespectacled boy sighed. "Goro, I'm being serious here. You looked really mad when you were talking to Mr Kitagawa. What happened?"

Goro's smile faltered a little. "Oh, so you want to talk about that, huh?"

As both of them entered the train that brought them back home, Goro, unable to stand the awkward silence between the two of them, finally began to talk.

"Here's the thing, Akira. Do you remember what my dream was back when we still worked together?"

Akira was baffled as he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? Did you ever tell me?"

"How dare you say that? I did, you horrible peasant!" Goro shrieked as he brought a hand to his chest, as if he was completely oblivious to the attention he was bringing to himself. "I can't believe you totally forgot about it!"

Akira rolled his eyes before he began to play along by folding his arms and giving Goro a sassy smile. "Of course I would forget about it, my queen. I'm gifted, remember?"

Goro groaned and placed the back of his hand on his forehead in a dramatic fashion. "To think I would be trolled over by a clown in my court!"

The raven-haired boy couldn't help but start giggling along with the dramatic boy. "Okay, but seriously, what was your dream?"

"My dream..." Goro began before he paused slightly and looked out of the subway's window in an emotional manner, which didn't work since they were in a tunnel and it was all clanging pipes outside. "... Is to revive the stage."

Akira frowned in confusion. "Revive... the stage? What does that mean? You mean, the Drama stage?"

"Not just the Drama stage, darling, but the stage of the Performing Arts in general," he replied, his face surprisingly all serious. "Have you not realised it, Akira? Stage acts, and I'm not talking about those with J-Pop and K-Pop acts and things like that, are dying! People just don't appreciate classic stage acts anymore, do you get it? I'm not talking about everyone per say, but the number of people interested in the performing arts are definitely dwindling!"

"R-Really?"

Goro looked at Akira with an exasperated look before he sighed and shook his head. "I should've expected it. You don't have any consequences to worry about since so long as your sense of humour is still there, everything will be okay for you. It's different for people who are in the same category of jobs as I'm in. If we don't do anything to make a change, we'll go down FAST."

He then turned away from his friend once more. "Theatre and drama in general is my passion, that's why I want to revive the stage. But Kitagawa-san and Yusuke-chan... they don't seem to get it at all! That was why I wanted Yusuke-chan to do his best in whatever he likes! Because not only do I want to see people's dreams come true, but I want to see the rows of seats in a theatre be filled up with people too! But for that to happen, you really need to be at the top."

"Goro..."

"But if that's what Yusuke-chan wants, I can't stop him," he continued. "After all, he is the only heir to the throne of his father's conpany. Kitagawa-san's business will go out of whack if Yusuke-chan doesn't help to take charge at certain points in time. I understand that, that's why I didn't stop him. But I really feel so..."

Akira pursed his lips together. He never realised that Goro had such a huge dream. But of course, it was no surprise that a perfectionist like him wanted to accomplish something so big.

However, Goro suddenly looked over at the list of train stations the train had just passed and screamed. "ARGH! Oh crap! Did I just miss my station?!"

Akira glanced at the list. "No? But you do have to alight at this one. The one we're stopping at now."

"OH! Thank god! I'll see you on Monday, Akira!" Goro smiled back and stepped out of the train before he suddenly turned back and blew a god damn kiss at his friend.

Akira face-palmed, but knowing his friend well by now, he waved back too with a laugh as the doors began to close.

Despite being so flamboyant at this point, it seems like Goro has still kept part of his seriousness in himself.

"He may have changed, but some things still stay the same..."

* * *

Akira came to school only to see something really surprising on Monday.

Or maybe it wasn't really surprising, since it was Makoto of all people who looked as if she were about to blow.

"Whoa, what the hell, Makoto? Are you on your period?" Yusuke had asked jokingly when he saw the expression on the seething girl. It didn't take long for him to realise that he shouldn't agitate anyone with red eyes after seeing Makoto's death glare.

As she stalked off, Akira slowly inched his way back before he turned to Ryuji, who happened to be standing nearby. "Hey... who pissed her off?"

Ryuji shrugged as he placed his book back into his bag. "Beats me. She came to school in a bad mood today. No one dared to even speak to her."

Akira raised an eyebrow as he watched her figure vanish down the corridor. "I thought she was always the happy-go-lucky type. Looks like she isn't that cheery the entire time, huh?"

"Oh, you wouldn't want to get on her bad side either, Akira-san…" Ryuji chuckled lightly before he checked his watch. "Come on, let's go. We got to go to class for homeroom soon."

"... You go on ahead, I'm going to go hide for a moment. I'll see you at filming later."

"Huh? Why?"

Ryuji didn't have to wait for long for his answer as a loud clamour came crashing from behind.

"AKIRA-CHAN~!"

Akira screamed as he hurled his bag over his shoulders and bolted down the hallway, the herd of rabid fangirls and fanboys running after him.

* * *

"He just wouldn't hear it! That freaking asshole just told me that I suit the role the best, and then kicked me out of his damn office! How the hell do you think I can stay calm after all of that bullshit?!" Makoto raged, slamming her hands onto her desk and scaring the rest of her classmates.

Haru sweat-dropped. "Maybe he had a reason to do so...? Your producer seems like a pain, to be honest..."

The furious girl looked as if she were about to flip her table. "See?! If even you think he's annoying, how do you think I feel?! He hadn't even given me the god damn script or at least tell me the reason why he thinks so! Like, what the hell, man?!"

"W-wow, that's a little..."

Makoto sighed before she took a deep breath and grabbed her water bottle. "Alright, let me calm down for a moment. I guess I'm getting a little too crazy in here. Hang on."

"I can understand why you're so angry right now. My patience would have been worn thin too if I had to deal with someone like your producer..."

Makoto nodded. "I don't know if I can even stand this anymore. If I'm going to be this angry everytime we have a meeting, I'm going to rage quit at this point. If I'm not going to be happy, then why should I continue, right?"

"Well... I guess you should just do what you think it's best for you, Mako-chan."

She looked up and smiled back at the auburn-haired girl as she set her water bottle back onto her table. "Hehe. Thanks, Haru-chan."

"Hey, have you heard? Apparently, there's a Yakuza group going around terrorizing the residents right now!"

The conversation between the two girls immediately came to a pause as they turned towards another group of students who were gossiping about the recent happenings that they know of.

"T-Terrorizing? How?"

"You know how some of the streets around the school have people setting up stalls to sell certain products? These people go and ask for 'protection fees'. If the stall owners don't pay up, they destroy their stalls and wreck all of their items! It's horrible!"

One of the girls gasped. "That's awful!"

"It is! But no one can do a thing about it, because somehow, they always seem to escape from the police's clutches!"

"What the hell are the police doing..."

"Can't blame them. No one even knows where the hideout of the Yakuza group is."

"That's so scary..."

Makoto glanced at Haru. "Is that true? There's a Yakuza group going around recently? How did I not know about this?"

Haru frowned. "I-I never heard about it either though... Were we too busy worrying about Yusuke's case?"

"Gosh, that sounds real awful, though," Makoto nodded. "I honestly don't understand these assholes at all. What's the fun in wrecking innocent people's lives and destroying their businesses?"

Hau sighed sadly. "It's just how it works. As much as I hate to admit it, these people just go around doing things as they please. I wish we could do something about this, but we may just end up getting ourselves killed."

"It would've been so cool to be the one to beat up the bad guys, though. Can you imagine that, Haru-chan?" Makoto asked as she turned to her friend with a grin.

"Mako-chan, this is not something we should be joking about."

"Aw, come on! Let me dream about being a hero for a moment, will you? I've already lost my chance at being a hero in the movie!"

Haru sighed as she patted Makoto's shoulder with a smile. "Alright, alright. Just dream what you want."

"But whatever it is, I'm not gonna give up," the brown-haired girl suddenly declared as she stood up and said, "I'm going to prove to the producer that even a girl like me who's gonna be acting as the damsel in distress can be a hero too!"

Haru started giggling as she replied, "You can do it, Makoto! I support you!"

* * *

As Ann continued to scroll through her Instagram, Ryuji flipped through his math book, Futaba wrote in her music book and Akira played with the Morgana plush toy he had in his hand, they all waited for the rest of the cast to come over. The four of them had already gotten prepared for their next act, and were just sitting at one corner waiting for the rest.

"Took you all long enough," Akira snickered when Yusuke, Goro, Haru and Makoto stepped in.

Ann smiled and waved at her best friend. "You're finally here, Haru!"

"The Year 3s were dismissed late because of an assembly," Makoto groaned. "But all I could remember about it was that I fell asleep halfway and ended up banging my head against poor Hifumi..."

Stunned, Futaba could only respond with a, "Wh-whoa..."

"Good thing it was sweet-as-sugar Hifumi, though," Makoto continued as she started guffawing at her own mistake. "If it were Chihaya, she'd probably yell at me as if there's no tomorrow. Hahaha!"

Haru sighed. "You can still laugh at that, Mako-chan?"

"I had to deal with some things for the Drama club, sorry to keep you all waiting," Goro apologised with a sheepish smile.

Yusuke groaned. "Tch. It's as if you're expecting the whole damn world to be waiting for you..."

"Anyways," Ann spoke up. "Shouldn't you guys be going to get dressed?"

"Oh, right."

As the four of them headed into the individual dressing rooms, Ann sighed as she tugged at her red suit. "Is it just me, or is the weather pretty darn hot recently?"

"It is... I'm sweating really badly in these pants already..." Futaba muttered softly before she sighed as well.

"I mean, summer's coming right up," Akira replied as he wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "And don't complain — Don't forget I'm still wearing another coat above everything else!"

"Yeah, yeah. But at least your suit isn't as skin-tight as us, y'know!"

Ryuji quickly intervened into the argument. "Pipe down, you guys! Now's not the time to be arguing—"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Akira nearly felt himself jump out of his skin upon hearing Yusuke's loud shriek coming from the dressing room. Ryuji quickly stood up and dashed towards where his friend was and slammed the door open. "Yusuke! Are you alright—?!"

Curious to see what caused Ryuji to stop mid sentence, Akira, Ann and Futaba stood up and walked over, only to have their eyes wide open when they realised what was the sight that had taken him aback.

Akira was the first to speak up. "Y-Yusuke, what on Earth is that?!"

"I-I don't know?!"

Yusuke's dressing room mirror didn't look the same as before. In fact, there were a ton of pink letters framing the mirror to look like a heart!

Ann pulled out one of the letters and read out aloud, "'You've danced your way into our hearts, Yusuke Kitagawa!' And it's even decorated with glitter, sequins and written with sparkle pens..."

"'Will you teach me how to dance, my beautiful Incubus?' BWAHAHAHAHA!" Akira crashed to the ground as he started cackling madly. "Are they serious?!"

"Pfft, 'Beautiful Incubus'...! HAHAHAHAH...! I'm so gonna use that as your nickname when I have the chance, Yusuke!"

Yusuke groaned upon seeing that Makoto had joined Akira in the laughing-fest. "Are you guys seriously..."

Goro began chuckling, "D'aww, our dear Yusuke-chan's getting popular~! This is fantastic!"

However, Ryuji was inspecting the note carefully before he placed a hand on Yusuke's shoulder in a foreboding manner and pushed up his glasses. "... Yusuke, I'd advise you to not come to school early anymore, or leave yourself alone during non-class time..."

Yusuke glanced at his blond-haired friend in confusion as they started to head out of the room in order to start acting. "Huh? Why?"

"Because..."

"YUSUKE-CHAN~!"

"Hm?!" The poor blue-haired delinquent only had a second to look at the huge cloud of dust heading their way before realising what was going on. "Oh no... don't tell me?!"

"Why's it so noisy out there?" Akira queried as he and the rest of the cast stepped out of the dressing room after having a good laugh about what happened, only to have the colour drained out of his face when he saw the huge group of screaming students. "OH HELL, NO!"

"Oh my god! AKIRA-CHAN AND GORO-CHAN ARE HERE TOO! KYAA—"

Goro immediately bolted for the emergency exit as he screamed, "RUN IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOUR LIVES!"

As the trio dashed out with the shrieking Mob tagging closely behind them, Makoto burst out laughing once more when she saw Ryuji pull out the stash of popcorn that Yusuke had hidden in his bag and started to munch on it. "Pfft! Ryuji?! What on earth?!"

"Ah, what a peaceful afternoon..."

"GYAHAHAHAHA!"

The poor Director of the show could only watch in astonishment at the aftermath of the stampede. "Th-They nearly destroyed the entire set... Holy cow."

"By the way," Haru suddenly spoke up after staying quiet for a while, "I heard that tension is rising really quick in the areas surrounding our school because of a Yakuza group...?"

Ann nodded. "Oh, yeah. I heard about it on the grapevine. It's really crazy, apparently."

Futaba sighed sadly. "It seems that the streets are getting even more dangerous than ever before..."

"I swear to God, if I see any of those members, I'm gonna punch them right in their faces—"

Haru smacked Makoto's arm, causing her to whimper. "Mako-chan, calm down!"

"Nah, you probably can't even punch their faces, Makoto."

"Oh, yeah? Why not?"

"Because all you would be seeing is an ass with two eyes," Ann grinned at her own snarky reply.

Both Haru and Futaba did a dry spit take while Makoto started laughing madly as usual. "HOLY SHIT! You're savage, Ann!"

"M-My goodness, Ann-chan. I didn't know you had that in you!" Haru started giggling. "I guess you've really lighten up a lot ever since that incident, huh?"

"Honestly, I can't bring myself to care about it anymore," Ann shrugged with a smile as she shifted to change her position. "All I know is that I'm going to just do what I'm comfortable with, and that's it."

Makoto nodded in approval as a proud smile grew on her face. "That's great!"

"But, back to the topic..." Ann quickly turned to Ryuji, who had been awfully quiet ever since they started talking about the Yakuza. "Ryuji, you're... awfully quiet. Are you sure you're okay?"

Makoto's eyes brightened up. "That reminds me! Isn't your father the owner of a fruit stall nearby? Are you guys okay?"

Ryuji shifted about uncomfortably as a sad look streaked across his eyes. "To be honest, well... the Yakuza group's being bringing a lot of problems to Dad..."

Futaba's gaze softened even more than before. "They've been harassing your father too, Ryuji-Senpai?"

The brown-eyed boy nodded. "Yeah... It's really difficult for Dad to continue business at this rate. Because people are scared of the Yakuza, Dad's business has been declining, and you guys know that our family isn't that well-off in the first place, so..."

Haru brought a hand to her mouth in shock. "That's awful... Can we do anything to help you, Ryuji?"

He scratched the back of his head. "W-Well, I am getting quite a couple of part-time jobs to help raise money for my family, so I think it should be fine. I mean, I already am working part-time for quite a while now, so I'm sure I'll get used to juggling three jobs."

Ann's eyes widened. "Wh-Whoa, hang on a minute! Three?! Are you sure?!"

"Don't worry, it won't be a problem," he smiled back. "Dad's already planning to file a police report, so hopefully everything goes as planned afterwards."

Futaba brought a hand to her chest and sighed. "I just hope your Dad's okay... I mean, it's not nice when you know that one of your friend's relatives is going through some tough times..."

Ryuji breathed out a small sigh as he smiled and patted his junior's head. "It's okay, Futaba-chan. We'll be fine."

Yet as the conversation went on while they waited for the remaining three boys to come back from the chase, no one noticed that Makoto had a look of fierce determination in her blood red eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Lots of crazy things are going to go down in this chapter, so brace yourselves!_

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

"WAHAHA—!"

CRASH!

Yusuke could only stare in exasperation at the joker who had gone crashing to the ground because he couldn't balance the one Yoga pose that they had to do in one of the Church scenes in Persona 5. "Really? You can't even balance such a simple pose?!"

"Cut! Kurusu-san, are you alright?"

Akira brought a thumbs up towards the Director. "I'm fine! Just lost my balance!"

"'Just'?! What kind of bar are you setting up for yourself, Akira Kurusu?!"

"Come on, Yusuke! You're a Dancer! Obviously, you would be able to do better than me!"

"Um, actually, you just need really strong core muscles to do that," Ryuji suddenly quipped up from behind, causing the rest of them to giggle.

Makoto started chuckling even harder. "Pfft! Oh my god, did you just insult him by saying that he's weak?! Do you need some ice for that burn, Akira?!"

Akira could only yell back indignantly with an, "Oi!"

"Now, now! We need to get Fox's scene settled, and then we're done for the day since we've finished most of the Church scenes!" The Director announced. "Let's do this again!"

"Yes, sir…"

As both Yusuke and Akira continued with their wacky scene, Futaba whispered to the rest of the cast, out of earshot from the recording microphone, "H-Hey, maybe it's just me, but I feel that Yusuke-Senpai's really enjoying himself right now."

Ann nodded eagerly. "Right?! I think that maybe after the burden's been lifted from his shoulder, he's been really happy every time we see him!"

"It's nice to see that he's able to freely show his passion now," Haru smiled. "No one should be restrained from doing what they want to do, after all."

"But that incident really made me learn that sometimes, one's internal conflict is not always easily understood by others," Ryuji added. "Sometimes, even knowing the entire story wouldn't help because everyone's opinions are different."

Goro chuckled, "As usual, we have the Words of Wisdom from the Brilliant Ryuji Sakamoto."

"H-Hey! Are you mocking me?!"

"And cut! Good take! Good job for today! After you change out, you all can go home!"

Akira threw his bag into the air and gave a whoop of delight. "Holy crap! We actually finished some of the Palace scenes and even all of the Confidants' church scenes! I'M SO HAPPY!"

"Calm down, you fuckin' oaf," Yusuke snickered as he grabbed his own bag. "Come on, we gotta change out of this damn thing."

Akira sighed as he trudged towards the dressing rooms, "Yes, Boss…"

"… By the way, what am I supposed to do with all of those letters?"

"You keep them and read them in your own leisure time, of course!" Goro yelled back. "Those fans may be crazy, but they still love you!"

Yusuke grimaced and shivered. "Now I know how it feels like to be chased by a god damn mob. That was fucking scary, to be honest…"

"But isn't it nice to know that people actually do appreciate what you do, and the worst situation that could happen ended up not being real?" Ann shrugged with a smile.

Looking back at Ann's ice-blue eyes, Yusuke stared for a moment before he nodded as he smiled back at her. "Huh, I guess you're right. By the way… I remembered that you were speaking with Sakamoto that day about wanting to be taught on how to dance…?"

She nodded back as she grinned sheepishly, pulling her hair back as a habit. "Yeah… Though it was something I said just to get you to confess how much you loved to dance, well… it's actually true."

Ryuji turned to her in shock. "So that entire conversation wasn't a ruse?! And here I thought your disguise was horrible when it came to impromptu acting!"

"HEY!" Ann hissed back as she smacked Ryuji on the head, causing the poor bespectacled boy to pout in pain.

Akira, whose heart was palpitating wildly in anticipation, watched as Yusuke took a deep breath before taking one step closer towards the group. This was it. This was the moment.

"Then… Ann, would you like me to teach you how to dance?"

Everyone stared in surprise, eyes widened. Futaba herself had both of her hands over her mouth as her brownish-violet eyes sparkled.

Ann's expression turned into that of confusion as a light blush dusted her face. "E-Eh?"

"… Oh my god, he said it! Kya…!"

"A-Akechi-kun?!" Haru freaked out upon hearing Goro squeal in joy and clap like a girl who had just bit into the loveliest dessert ever made. "Are you sure you're okay?!"

Goro grabbed her collar, his joyful expression suddenly turned into that of anger. "You don't understand, Haru-chii! Do you know how much I ship those two?!"

"Um… okay?"

Ryuji stared in shock. "Whoa! That was a pick-up line, wasn't it?!"

Makoto nodded, a hand over her mouth. "I'm pretty damn sure it is! Dayum, Yusuke! Didn't know you were that smooth!"

"Hell yeah, you actually said it, dude!" Akira yelled in excitement as he slapped the delinquent on the back, a huge grin spreading across his face. Then he turned back to Ann and waited for her answer, only to start giggling to himself when he realised that the poor girl was absolutely flustered.

"Uh… well…" Ann began stuttering as she nervously tucked her blond hair behind her ear, eyes adverting away from the dancer in front of her. "C-Can I really…?"

Yusuke nodded. "Duh, you just have to ask if you wanted to. But I'm just giving you a proposal at this point."

Goro looked as if he was on the verge of hyperventilation as he fell back from his chair and squealed, "Oh my god, he said proposal—OW!"

Akira immediately freaked out as he dashed towards his friend. "Holy shit, Goro! Are you okay?!"

Slowly, the brown-haired shipper on deck sat back up. "I'm fine, don't mind me!"

"Um…" Ann continued to stutter, clearly taken aback by the situation. Then she smiled and replied with head lowered in embarrassment, "T-To be honest, I'd like to… Yeah! W-Will that really be okay, Yusuke?"

"GYAHAHA!"

Makoto had to slam both of her hands down onto Goro to ensure he didn't fall off his chair again from all of that squealing as she screamed, "Goro, chill! Oh my god!"

Yusuke smiled in approval with a calm look on his face as he replied, "Great. I'll see you tomorrow at Dance Studio 2, then. Come on, Akira. Let's get changed."

Akira noted that it was a nice change of pace for Yusuke to start calling them all by first names. He never noticed it at first, but soon realised that ever since that incident, Yusuke didn't call them by their last names anymore. It was much more casual, and Akira actually liked it since he'd prefer not to be so formal.

"Alright, I'm coming!"

Yet as they ducked behind the partition wall which no one else could see behind, Yusuke's calm demeanour totally vanished as he brought his bag over to his face and started squealing with joy as well.

"AAAAAAHH! Oh my god, she said yes! SHE SAID YES!"

Upon seeing the usually 'manly' delinquent reacting in that way, Akira couldn't help but burst out laughing madly.

* * *

"So how is being popular like? Pfft!"

Yusuke turned to glare at her. "Shut up, Makoto! It sucks! I thought my reputation was going to dive down, but then this is even worse than I thought!"

As the group continued to laugh and joke on their way out of the room, suddenly, the door swished opened. "And I was wondering why there was such a commotion in here. You guys are all still here."

Makoto stared at the door in surprise. "Sis?! And Takemi-Sensei!"

Akira glanced in puzzlement. "Hold up! Who's that punk-styled lady?!"

"Tae Takemi, a Year 3 Biology teacher," Yusuke introduced before he huffed, "Most guys would kill for her to become their teacher. I think you can see why. Ryuji's honestly pretty damn lucky to be able to see her during Biology lab courses in school hours."

"Considering how Takemi-Sensei is one of the teachers in charge of the Modelling course too, of course, she's pretty," Ann replied with a giggle.

"B-But what are you doing here...?" Makoto queried in confusion.

Sae laughed lightly at her sister's reaction as she walked towards the Director. "Let's just say... I managed to get a role in the same game as you guys are acting in as well."

Haru stared in surprise. "You're going to be acting in Persona 5 too, Sae-san?"

"Hey, don't forget about your teacher, Okumura-san," Tae pipped in with another chuckle.

"Yeah, both Tae and I are going to be acting in Persona 5. I'm a lawyer, as usual," Sae replied as she was handed the script by the Director. "Tae here is going to be a doctor."

Goro nodded as he absorbed the information in. "Ho, boy! Are they bringing a punk doctor in as one of the available dating routes? Things are sure going to get steamy~"

"Sae here isn't available as a dating route, though," the Director replied back with a laugh, causing Sae to turn to him before rolling her eyes.

"Don't objectify me, Director."

"Alright, calm down, Sae."

Sae shook her head with a smile as she stepped towards her little sister. "Thanks for the script, Director. But since you guys are all here, shall we go home together, Makoto?"

"Huh?! But I... Oh well, I guess," Makoto sighed and shrugged as she stood closer to her sister.

Haru giggled. "You don't sound that willing, Makoto."

"I originally thought that I wanted to talk to you guys, but then I realised I haven't caught up with my sister for quite a while," the red-eyed girl replied back with a grin and grabbed her sister's arm. "Well then, we shall head back home first then! See ya!"

As Makoto and Sae walked out of the room, Haru bit her lip. Akira immediately noticed it and asked the auburn-haired girl, "Haru, are you alright?"

"I don't know... I keep feeling as if Makoto's going to pull off some sort of stunt that we aren't going to like."

Futaba, who was silent the entire time, quickly nodded. "Makoto was acting like what we would deem her normal self, but she looks determined to... do something about a problem."

"I was just hoping I was paranoid, but if Futaba felt it too, then..." Haru shook her head. "I just hope she doesn't do anything rash! Who knows what she's going to do?"

Yusuke folded his arms. "That means we gotta keep out eyes on her for the next few days, don't we? I mean, that's the vibes I'm getting from you."

"The good thing is, at least Sae is around to ensure Makoto doesn't go off-track today," Ryuji replied. "If that's the case, everything should be fine today."

"I hope so..."

"... Geez, Haru, you're always worrying about everything and everyone around you!" Ann giggled. "I mean, this case is indeed worrying, but sometimes, you just need to relax, alright?"

Haru smiled at her friend. "Yeah... I guess I should."

Ryuji then picked up his bag. "Well, I gotta head out now. I'm off to my part-time job. I can't be late!"

As the blond-haired boy quickly sprinted out of the room, everyone continued to chat with each other as they slowly made their way out of the set.

* * *

"Do you think Makoto's really going to be doing something really crazy?" Akira asked the group of friends as they sat in the seats of the subway. Surprisingly enough, there were seats for them to rest on at this time of the day when most people would be taking the subway back to their homes after work.

Ann sighed. "To be honest, I don't know. I laughed at Haru for being so worried, but I'm actually more than a little concerned too. Have you not seen how hot-blooded she's been these days? I fear that she may actually be planning something really insane that we don't know about, and if that is true..."

Goro nodded. "I hate to say this, but the consequences will be dire."

The three of them were heading the same direction to get back home, so they were taking the same train back.

"Oh, by the way," Ann turned towards Goro and asked him, "I thought that you usually go home by car. Is your chauffeur not free today?"

"You got a chauffeur?!" Akira screeched in shock, only to quickly cover his mouth when he realised how much attention he was bringing to them.

"Duh, Goro here's pretty damn rich..."

The brown-eyed boy shook his head. "I do have a chauffeur, but it's not because he isn't free. It's more like I wish to expose myself to the normal, daily lives of the usual citizen. I've led a sheltered life for a very long time, and I do want to see more of the outside world."

Akira stared at his friend. "Damn... that sounds deep."

"I must admit, I probably don't know much of the outside world unlike you guys even though I have been in the media industry and the classical drama industry for a long time," he sighed. "All I see are people stabbing each other in the backs just to get the better roles and things like that. Even though I really love to perform on the stage and take the role of an entirely new character, sometimes, I really hate what goes behind the scenes. It's not as pretty as most people would expect..."

"You've had it tough, Goro," Ann sighed, sympathizing with him. "That sounds really bad."

"I mean, when you're in these types of industries, you just got to put on a brave front even though you're about to break down inside," he shrugged with a sad smile. "It can't be helped when your job is to practically put a mask over your face and fake an emotion when necessary. But I still love my job, and I want to revive the stage, just like I have told Akira that day."

The bespectacled boy nodded back, but with a determined smile on his face.

There was silence for a while before suddenly, Akira's phone rang. Curiously, he picked it up.

"Hello?! Akira-san, are you there?! Is anyone else with you?!"

Akira deadpanned, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't answer the phone, Ryuji... But yeah, I'm with Ann and Goro-Goro right now. What is it?"

Goro stared at his friend as if the raven-haired boy had just sprouted another pair of arms.

"Akira! Now's not the time for jokes! I'm being serious here!" Akira heard Ryuji yell back, not amused. "Listen, I'm at Akihabara right now because of my part-time job, and I just saw Makoto walk down an alleyway! I swear, something seems seriously off about her!"

"What kind of part-time job are you taking if you're at Akihabara?!"Akira gawked as he quickly switched the speakers' mode so that Goro and Ann could hear the entire conversation.

"I'm making deliveries, Akira-san! But anyways, I need you guys to get down here immediately! Makoto looks like she's going off to murder someone, I'm not kidding!"

"B-But wasn't she with Sae?! What happened?!"

He could hear Ryuji panicking behind the speakers. "I don't know! She's alone by herself, so I'm assuming that somehow, she managed to get her older sister to go home first. But this is really bad news! We need to see what on earth she's trying to do! Please! I don't know if I can handle this on my own!"

The three of them glanced at each other worryingly. Ann quickly snatched up the phone. "We'll be going! Where are you right now?! Have you informed anyone else?!"

"I've informed Sae-san, Haru, and Yusuke about it! They're all coming down right now! I'm just beside the old machine parts stall! Please, hurry!"

Goro's eyebrows creased into a frown as he replied, "We've got you, Ryuji! We'll be heading there at this minute!"

The call was cut off. The three of them nodded at each other, determined to get Makoto out of any trouble if she were to bump into any and prevent her from doing something dumb.

* * *

"Akira, Goro, Ann!" Haru quickly called out to them as they raced towards the old machine parts stall. "Did you guys get the call from Ryuji as well?!"

Ann nodded. "He told us that Makoto went down an alleyway! What the hell was she thinking?!"

"She's planning something," Goro replied, "And I don't think I like where this is going."

Akira shrieked as they finally neared towards the destination, where Yusuke and Futaba had also just arrived and Ryuji was waiting, "No one likes where this is going, Goro-Goro!"

"Oh my god, thank goodness you guys are here!" Ryuji breathed out before he quickly dashed down the alley. "Follow me, Makoto went down this way!"

"Shouldn't the police be handling this freaking piece of shit?!" Yusuke yelled down at the Book Genius. "We may end up getting ourselves fucking killed if we're not careful!"

"Don't worry, I got Sae to call the police before you guys arrived! She's coming over as well!" he replied as he stopped in front of a building. "W-Well, we're here. I saw Makoto enter this building..."

"I-I'm not really on board with this, though..." Futaba bit her lip. "I mean, it's like Yusuke said: we may be putting ourselves in danger, even if Makoto-Senpai is in there!"

"Then you girls stay out, we'll take care of it," Goro quickly stepped in, but Haru stopped him.

"It's okay, we'll all have to go in together. It's for Mako-chan's sake, after all."

Akira nodded as he held on the handle of the door and looked back at all of them. "Then we all have to ensure we take care of ourselves, okay? I'm opening the door."

They all nodded. Akira could only do so much as to take a deep breath before he slowly opened the door.

But once they opened the door, the sight in front shocked them tremendously, causing some of them to step back in the horror of what just happened.

"...! MAKOTO!"

There Makoto laid, uniform torn and her body bruised and battered. Akira could have sworn he saw blood splatters on the floor and on her clothes too, but the scene in front of them was already too much to take to look into detail...

The group of gangsters looked up at the intruders and one of them cackled. "Oh, you've brought your friends to 'defeat' us too, girl? Wow, it looks like we are right. You really are a damsel in distress!"

"...! You freaking-Argh!" Makoto groaned in pain as she grabbed her leg and fell back to the ground, causing Haru to quickly run over to attend to her.

"Mako-chan! Are you alright?!"

"Why the hell are you guys here?! This is dangerous!"

"Then what the fuck are you doing here?!" Yusuke screamed back as the Yakuza members immediately charged towards them. Swiftly, he dealt a punch to the lanky man who had decided to go after him.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Akira could only shriek as he quickly smacked down another one of the guys before he turned to Goro and sweat-dropped. "... Are you sure you're alright there, Goro-Goro?"

"Do I look like the type who can fight, you freaking plebeian?!" Goro screamed at Akira as he tried to smack the guy who had ran after him using a clothes pole that was sitting at one end of the room.

"You're calling me a plebeian when even the girls are handling them better than you are?!" the raven-haired boy howled back in exasperation when he saw Ann smacking another man with her bag and Futaba taking advantage of her small stature by secretly bashing them on the back of their heads. "Toughen up, god damn it! This is a serious situation!"

Haru then slowly turned towards Ryuji, who had his eyes shadowed. "So... you guys were the one who wrecked my father's stall that day, and now you injured my friend...?"

"R-Ryuji...?"

A dark aura surrounded him as he carefully removed his glasses and placed them into his shirt pocket, glaring straight towards the leader of the gang who was simply just smirking at them.

He asked arrogantly, "What're gonna do, Blondie? Are you gonna smack me down with those wimpy punches? You've gotta be kidding me..."

Yusuke stared before he shook his head. "Oh, no..."

"What is it, Yusuke?" Ann asked worriedly.

"He may not look like it, but he nearly got involved in an assault case," Yusuke replied as he felt sweat running down his forehead. "And that's because someone decided to insult and harass his mom. Ryuji's berserk button triggers every time something happens to his parents, so..."

Akira followed Yusuke's line of sight and gasped when he realised he could barely even recognise the genius boy with that look on his face. He could only gawk on as Ryuji slowly reached for his blazer and threw it aside, eyes still focused on the Yakuza leader.

And that was when he heard those words from the one whom he thought was the most innocent and least violent of the group.

"... You're going to have a very bad time."

* * *

 **BLOOPERS!**

 _Hey guys! As promised from the previous chapter, here are some bloopers (YAY!)! (Be careful, the fourth one may cause some major freakouts because there's a huge dirty joke in that one)_

Scene 1: Emperor Confidant Rank 5 (Church)

 **BLOOPER 1:**

Yusuke: Very well. You will have to be my model today.

Akira: (puts hand out of his pockets)

Yusuke: ... Yes, that must be it! That is what I need! Only a subject naked as the day they were born can convey the true anguish of birth-wait, did I say that right?

Akira: (while giggling like a little girl) Technically, yes...

Yusuke: ... I really have no idea how I relate to this character.

 **BLOOPER 2:**

Yusuke: Yes, that must be it! That is what I need! Only a subject naked as the day they were born can convey the true anguish of birth! Now then, (trying to choke down laughter) strip! Take it all-PFFT-off- HAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't take this shit seriously!

(The Director face-palms, while Akira starts laughing along)

 **BLOOPERS 3 (technically not a blooper):**

Yusuke: Let us return home for today. I bid you farewell. (suddenly strikes the crucifixion pose) Farewell.

Akira: (sweat-drops and does the same pose)

Yusuke: Wonderful.

Director: And... Cut! Good take!

Yusuke: (stops posing) Oh my god, this is literally freaking JoJo all over again. Is Fox sure he's okay?!

Goro: (in the background) Fox's personality is beautiful! Don't badmouth someone from another universe!

Akira: (laughing) OH MY GOD! But... hey, technically speaking, isn't Goro calling you beautiful, Yusuke?

Yusuke: HAH?!

Akira: Because I heard that we were given our roles based on parts of our real personalities, so...

Yusuke: I'M NOT LIKE THAT FUCKING FOX-(Connection terminated)

Scene 2: Taking Crow to Confessional

 **BLOOPER 1:**

Goro: ... Huh?! This is a confessional, isn't it? Your sudden summons surprised me, but... Have I done something to offend you?

Akira: Confess about those dreams you have of me every night.

Director: (in the background) Oh my god...

Goro: ... (squints) What?

Akira: (giggling) Confess your true feelings and show your true form!

Goro: (gets what Akira's doing and starts talking in a very feminine voice) Huh? Y-You want me to be honest, Akira-chan? W-Well, to be honest, every time I think about you, I... (he brings a hand to his mouth is a girlish way)

Ryuji: (in the background) Oh crude... MAKOTO! COVER FUTABA'S EARS!

Makoto: (in the background) HARU... OR ANN! COVER RYUJI'S EARS!

Ryuji: (in the background) HUH?! WHY?!

Goro: M-My imagination runs wild, and I.. um... I soon realise that I'm touching myself all over and stroking my-

Akira: (rolls to the floor, laughing his ass off) WAHAHAH! Okay, okay, stop! You win, alright?! I'm DISTURBED! Holy crap!

Yusuke: (in the background) ... What the fuck did I just watch?!

Ann: (in the background) Now I wish I didn't hear that...

Goro: It's now time to pollute the minds of the innocent... (evil grin)

Akira: NO! NOT THE CHILDREN! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Happy New Year, everyone! Take this chapter as my New Year gift to y'all, okay? I don't think I can upload very often anymore since my school year is starting again soon, so I hope you all can understand. Hopefully I'll be able to finish this story by the end of next year, though!_

 _Just some things to take note: I'm not planning any ships based on whatever happened in Persona 5, so any couples that surface out will come from how the story develops._

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

The entire situation was settled in fifteen minutes flat. By then, the wails of sirens of police cars had already echoed around the entire streets. The police officers were able to easily arrest them since... well...

"Um, Ryuji?"

"What is it, Akira-san?"

"... Uh..." Akira was at a total loss of words as he stared at the brutal wounds that the blond boy whom he always knew as the most gentle guy in the group had given to the Yakuza members who were slowly limping into the car.

"It's not just Ryuji," Yusuke added as he rubbed a punch wound he had obtained from the fight. "Even the girls are brutal when it comes to avenging their friend..."

Ann shrugged. "Duh! We can't just let them go like that, you know?"

"Um... your punches weren't light either, Yusuke..." Futaba added.

"I'm... highly worried about Mako-chan, though..." Haru muttered softly as she watched the unconscious girl being hoisted onto the stretcher and being placed into the ambulance, about to be whisked away to the nearest hospital.

"We all are," Goro frowned. "I wonder what gave her the motivation to decide to come here and beat these guys up all on her own. If not for the fact that there are so many of us here, those Yakuza members would have probably destroyed us individually."

Akira would have remarked that Goro didn't do much himself since he could barely self-defend, but decided that now wasn't the time to do so.

"Based on her injuries, Makoto should be fine by the end of the day," Ryuji replied. "What matters most now is her mental condition, to be honest..."

Akira snapped towards him. "M-Mental condition?! What?!"

"I don't mean it as a medical term. What I mean is that I don't know if Makoto will be really upset by this and just give up on herself..."

Yusuke groaned, "Aw, come on! It's Makoto Niijima we're talking about! If she's gonna be upset about something, she'll be fine in a couple of days!"

"But Makoto-Senpai seemed really upset recently..." Futaba muttered softly.

"That's what I'm worried about," Haru sighed. "And it's not just that. You all did see Makoto's leg earlier, didn't you?"

Ann nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, she twisted her ankle, didn't she..."

"A twisted ankle usually takes around two weeks for recovery..." Goro pondered. "That means that our acting timetable is thrown off-schedule. But the worst part is not the fact that our schedule is thrown off-balance, but rather..."

Haru nodded sadly. "... The fact that Mako-chan's probably going to blame herself, knowing her personality."

There was a bit of silence, before Yusuke suddenly spoke up. "Hey, hate to break it and all, and you guys may yell at me for saying this, but to be honest, I think it's her fault that she recklessly went to try and beat the crap out of those guys."

Haru quickly snapped towards the blue-haired boy, but before she could argue back, a policeman began walking towards them.

"Were you students involved in the fight earlier on too?"

One by one, they all hesitantly nodded.

"Well, then please come to the police station with us. We'll have to take your statements."

* * *

"Thank god our records aren't going to be tainted, holy shit..." Yusuke sighed in relief as they stepped out of the police station.

"At least those Yakuza members got what they deserved after doing such things to the civilians," Ryuji nodded.

"I would say they deserved it, but damn, the wounds you gave them," Ann shivered. "I would have never expected that from you."

"Oh, by the way," Haru suddenly quipped up, "Where's Sae-san?"

"Probably in the hospital, waiting for Makoto's injuries to be treated," Akira replied. "I mean, it seems like the most logical explanation."

"Regardless, I think it's best if we all go home today, and check on Makoto-kun's condition tomorrow," Goro told them. "I don't think we would want to disturb her today either, would we?"

"No. You're right. We should all just go home for the time being, even though I'm really worried about her," Haru nodded. "It won't do us any good if we were to go and see her when she's unconscious."

* * *

Walking on the path back home after saying goodbye to his friends and leaving the subway, Akira couldn't help but sigh. Ever since he stepped into Shujin Academy, it seemed that his life had been turned upside down by these friends of his.

First, Ann, then Yusuke, and now Makoto. Who else was going to end up flipping out due to some sort of stress that they had?

Or maybe the next person was going to be him?

Akira groaned to himself. Things were going worse than they thought. He could even figure out what motive Makoto would have to just go and beat up all of the guys. Maybe it was as they had suspected, and she really wanted to seek justice. Or maybe it was for a slightly more selfish reason?

But what other reason could there be? He couldn't understand at all.

With a sigh, he fished out his keys and unlocked the door to his apartment. Opening the door, he frowned when he realised that no one was home.

Oh right, he had forgotten that his parents had gone out to meet with some colleagues or friends for dinner to discuss about work matters. He had gotten the message just a couple of minutes ago.

Sitting at the dinner table after heating up the food that his mother had cooked for him before leaving the house, Akira checked his phone for any updates. Most of them seemed to be messages from the Persona 5 group concerning what just happened to Makoto. For obvious reasons, Makoto wasn't online, but it still hurt to know that a friend was in the hospital.

As he picked up a spoonful of rice and brought it to his mouth, Akira was about to continue the conversation that was going on when his phone suddenly rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Akira was a little surprised. "... Goro-Goro? Why would he be calling me at this time?"

Accepting the call, Akira lifted the receiver to his ear. "Hey. What's up?"

"Hey, Akira! Are you free to talk right now?"

"I wouldn't have answered the call if I wasn't free, Goro-Goro..."

He heard a huff from the othet side. "Alright, Sarcastic Smarty-Pants, I get it! Anyways, I just want to check with you about our schedule because I don't have it with me right now. How many other scenes do we have to film that don't involve Makoto-kun?"

"Uh, hang on, let me check..." Akira quick placed his phone on the glass table before rummaging through the bag and pulling out a file. "Well... Madarame Palace's arc is pretty much completed... I think Kamoshida's is mostly done too... Chariot, Lovers, Fortune, Moon and Strength Confidant scenes are all completed... Church scenes too... Emperor's scenes are half completed... We barely even touched the rest... Oh man, I remembered Lavenza being so freaking scary that I couldn't afford to bring in any bloopers..."

"Alright, alright! Just answer the question!"

"Chill, let me see! ... Only the rest of the confidant scenes, at this rate. All the rest of the scenes all involve Makoto," Akira quickly replied upon noticing Goro's impatience, then paused when the realisation hit him. "Wait... how long is Makoto's injury going to take to heal...?"

"That's what I'm really worried about. Considering that Makoto-kun's leg is injured, there's a high chance that she's going to be out of commission for a long time..."

Akira nodded, but then something came up to his mind as he continued to look through the Confidant scenes. "But it shouldn't be that bad... right? I mean, even if she takes an entire month to heal, we still can film all of the other confidant scenes first, right? I mean, we still have a lot of Arcanas left... Oh wait a minute. Crap."

He heard Goro's confused voice. "Huh... I think you may be right, but why that sudden reaction?"

"Most of the Confidant scenes are filmed at much later dates. Does this mean the rest of them aren't very free to take over our Palace scenes?"

There was a thump on the other side of the receiver. Akira assumed that Goro had face-palmed. "Oh, no. That's bad. We probably need to tell Director about this... Let's tell the rest of the group first. I'll inform them. If I miss out anything, you can add in, okay?"

Akira nodded. "Yeah. You can count on me for that."

"Thanks, Akira. Knew I could depend on you for anything. See you tomorrow!"

Click.

Akira's face fell. Placing his phone back on the table, he sighed. This was going even worse than he thought...

* * *

 _The next day..._

"R-Ren Amamiya...?"

Akira stared at the Director in disbelief. Just earlier, they were doing some filming for the Hermit and Empress Confiant scenes, but then the Director also wanted the rest of the cast present for a briefing about a Persona 5 TV Series.

The Director nodded. "Yeah. We hae given a name to the Joker for the animation. It's Ren Amamiya. Didn't you know that we always give the protagonists of the Persona Series names for the TV Series?"

Akira was indignant about it! "Amamiya?! More like Ma Ma Mia! What the heck?! Why do the rest of my friends get to keep their names while I don't?!"

"Don't worry, we'll be using your real name in the Manga. It's the tradition, you know?" The Director added as he tried to appease the raging raven-haired boy.

"Don't worry, Amamiya! You're a hot Mamasita!"

"Goro, you're not helping!" Akira screamed back at the brown-haired boy who was wriggling his eyebrow at him while everyone started cackling madly in laughter.

As the laughing died down and they finally went to pack up their things, Haru sighed, "I wonder if Mako-chan would enjoy herself during filming today just like we did. It feels so different without her..."

"I mean, without her boisterous laughter, everything seems a little more quiet than usual," Ryuji nodded. "It's a little weird, to be honest."

Ann shrugged, but her expression looked a little sad. "Who wouldn't find it weird today? Makoto was always the loud one here who makes us smile."

"...? Are you guys not goin'?"

All of them turned towards Yusuke, who was already at the door with his bag in tow. The delinquent was staring at them with a raised eyebrow.

Akira quipped up, "Uh, Yusuke, have we all planned to go somewhere or something? Or am I just being dumb?"

He frowned a little in confusion. "Um, are we not going to visit Makoto today?"

Ryuji snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! Sae-san messaged me and told me that Makoto has waken up! She's allowed to have others visit her!"

Haru's eyes widened as a smile grew on her face. "That's fantastic! Come on, guys! Let's go and visit her!"

However, Futaba quietly muttered, "I can't go today..."

Everyone paused and looked at her. Goro immediately asked, "Is something the matter, Futaba-chan?"

"Um... here's the thing..." she pressed both index fingers together as she explained, her voice growing softer by the second, "I have a music competition to take care of..."

Ann got curious. "Music competition? Wow... Did Iwai-Sensei request for you to participate in one?"

The bespectacled girl nodded as she looked down in disappointment. "I'm really sorry..."

Ryuji chuckled lightly. "There's no need to apologise, Futaba. We all understand, okay? Just do your best, though. Don't stress yourself out too much."

Surprisingly, Futaba's eyes lit up. "Th-Thank you, Ryuji-Senpai..."

Ducking around them using her small stature, Futaba quickly made her exit as she headed towards the Music Room. Ann stared at the orange-haired girl for a while before she started giggling.

"Oh... I see how this is..."

The blond-haired boy could only look at her quizzically. "Huh? What's wrong?"

She quickly shook her head, but her smile was still plastered all over her face. "Oh, no. It's nothing!"

However, Haru was starting to get anxious as she hurriedly walked out of the set. "Come on, guys! We got to go and visit Makoto before visiting time ends!"

* * *

"Makoto, are you feeling okay today?"

Makoto, who was lying on the hospital bed, groaned in agony and shook her head. "No. And it's not because of my sprained ankle..."

Sae sighed and nodded. The cuts that those Yakuza members had given Makoto were rather severe and had caused painful infections and inflammation which led to a high fever. Seeing her sister being in such a state, her heart really ached for her.

Why did she not protect her sister? She should have known that something was wrong with Makoto when she wanted her to go back home first!

Makoto stared at her sister before she sighed loudly. "Sis, don't blame yourself. It was my stupidity that caused me to be in this state. It's not your fault."

"But if only I had taken notice, then maybe I wouldn't have let you go. How am I going to answer to our late parents?" Sae clutched her head and closed her eyes. "Dad... Mom... I've failed you two. I couldn't protect Makoto..."

However, the brown-haired girl still shook her head, a guilty look in her red eyes. "No, I'm serious, Sis. I was stupid. Stupid to let my desires and emotions take over."

"Your sense of justice is commendable, Makoto, but you have to sometimes know what you can do, and what you should just leave..."

"It wasn't just my sense of justice. It was for a much more selfish reason too..."

Sae glanced at Makoto with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

Makoto took a deep breath, then looked back at her sister. "Sis, do you remember about how I kept complaining about my role in 'The Dragon', about how I got the role I hated the most?"

Sae frowned in confusion, trying to link both incidents up before she gasped. "It can't be... You only went after the Yakuza members because...?"

"I know it sounds nonsensical, but I thought that if the Producer realised how capable and sincere I was, then maybe he would allow me to actually get the role I want... But look at where that stupid plan brought me to." Makoto shook her head. "I'm such an idiot, Sis. I really don't know what the hell happened to my head. I must have been drunk when I thought about it..."

Sae stared at Makoto in disbelief while she continued, "But of course, it wasn't just for this selfish desire. I really did wish to help out Ryuji's father because he was being harassed by those people, so I thought that it would be killing two birds with one stone, you know? But I overestimated myself, and I paid the price."

"M-Makoto..."

However, a sudden shout filled the entire room. "So that was the fucking reason you went after them?!"

Makoto was jolted out of her wits as she looked around the open ward. Wasn't that's... Yusuke's voice?

"Y-Yusuke! Pipe down with that language! This is a general ward! Everyone can hear you!"

Loud footsteps thumped towards them, and Makoto could immediately tell who was in the group. There was no doubt—they were all here!

Right at the front of the group was Yusuke Kitagawa, who's face looked as black as a thundercloud. Man, he was really angry… She could clearly see Haru's worried face as well.

Haru quickly brushed past the furious delinquent, running towards her and collapsing in the seat beside her bed. "Mako-chan! Are you alright?"

"You think?"

Sae sighed once more after regaining composure and explained, "Makoto received rather severe injuries from the Yakuza members. Not only is her ankle sprained, but the cuts on her body have caused her to gain a fever due to infection and inflammation. She's still going to stay here for at least three more days until her wounds recover."

Goro brought a hand to his chin. "That's awful… you're going to be missing a lot of days in school. Are you going to be alright, Makoto-kun?"

"I hope so. This is gonna suck… aren't our Common Tests in two weeks?" Makoto groaned and flopped back into the bed.

Ann nodded. "Don't worry, we'll help you as much as possible to catch up!"

It was at that moment when Yusuke spoke up. "Oi, don't mind me for being rude here, but what the hell? You went to beat up those fuckers just to get the role you want in the movie? I mean, I know about all that justice mumbo-jumbo that you were talking about and all, but seriously?! That's your other reason?!"

Ryuji sighed sadly as he leaned against the wall. "Maybe I shouldn't have spoken about our issues back home… If I hadn't, you wouldn't have ended up like this?"

Makoto shook her head. "No, it wasn't your fault. It was my own crappy idea that harmed me. I deserved all of this. And it sucks, because now my retribution is to be unable to even act in the movie anymore."

Hang on, did Makoto just…? Akira whipped his head towards her. "M-Makoto, did you just say that you aren't acting in 'The Dragon' anymore?"

She nodded. "There's just no way. Have you really not realised it? This sprained ankle is going to just delay the entire filing process. And it's not just that movie. Even Persona 5 is going to get delayed thanks to me and my stupidity."

Yusuke groaned. "And it's thanks to you that the Director said something about changing the script for the later parts of the game…"

"Wh-what?" Makoto turned towards the blue-haired boy and stared at him for a while before sighing and turning back to looking at her pristine white bedsheets. "God damn it, this is all my fault. I should have known…"

"Calm down, we don't even know what the Director is planning to change," Akira quickly replied, trying to appease them. "It could be a scene that we haven't recorded, for all we know."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Well, I hope so! If not, it would have all been for nothing!"

Ryuji hurriedly slapped Yusuke's arm. "Come on, don't be rude! Can't you see now upset she is?"

He piped down real quick. "S-sorry. I was just pissed…"

"At least you shouldn't be as pissed as I am…" Akira sighed as he folded his arms, causing everyone to remember what happened just earlier and start snickering.

Highly confused, Makoto could only ask, "What? What happened? Anyways, where's Futaba?"

"She's practising for a competition that Iwai-Sensei asked her to take part in," Ann replied before giggling, "And as for why Akira's so mad… let's just say he's gotten another name because of the TV series that Atlus usually launches a while after the game's release…"

"Huh?"

"Say hello to Ren Amami-YAAAAA~! MA MA MIA~!" Goro sang out loud before breaking down in laugher with everyone else. Even Makoto and Sae, who was listening to her sister's conversation with her friends, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Poor Akira could only sigh and mutter, "Here we go again…"

* * *

OMAKE:

Sighing, the Director slowly packed up his items on the set. The Persona 5 cast had hurriedly left because one of the members, Makoto Niijima, had been injured after fighting some Yakuza members… How foolish could she be to make herself so ill during the course of filming?

Staring at the schedule, he could only shake his head. This is going to be bad… there were going to be some scenes at the end of Persona 5 that he had to discuss with the other higher-ups to be scrapped, or else the release date was going to be delayed by a large margin.

"We had already scrapped the idea of Hifumi Togo being a part of the Phantom Thieves because there wasn't much time left… what are we supposed to do now?"

"Hey, Director! Is something bothering you?"

Shocked to hear someone suddenly call him out, he turned towards the door and had a pleasant surprise. "Hey! You two are here!"

Entering the room was a blue-haired male with a light build and headphones around his neck, and another tall silver-haired male wearing a pair of grey glasses. Souji Seta smiled back at the Director and asked, "How's it going, Director?"

He sighed. "Not so good. One of the cast members obtained rather severe injuries and is down with a fever and a sprained ankle. That isn't good for all of the action scenes. Still, I didn't expect you two to still look the same as before."

Minato Arisato groaned in dismay while Souji simply chuckled. "Ten years later, and you still tell me that I look the same as before?! Anyways, why did you call me here, Director?"

"The thing is… our company is planning to add another Dance game to our franchise. I think you know what this means, don't you?"

"… Are we going to have another Dancing All Night with Persona 3 characters instead?"

The Director nodded, while Souji started chuckling. "I'm glad I'm past that period. Good luck, Arisato-Senpai."

"Not Dancing All Night, but Dancing Moon Night. I haven't told the Persona 5 cast about it yet since I don't want to stress them out, but we're planning a Dancing Star Night game for them as well. But that's not all. We're also planning to have another Persona Q series: Persona Q2."

Minato turned towards Souji. "What was that about relaxing?"

He sighed and flopped onto the ground. "Oh, man… Director. why are we having so many games this year?!"

He chuckled, "I mean, you got to ask Atlus about that, Narukami-san, Makoto-san."

Suddenly, an air of awkwardness filled the air. Souji sweat-dropped and chuckled nervously, while Minato fell silent.

"Uh… Director…? You do know that Arisato-Senpai is really sensitive about this, don't you?"

The Director gulped, then turned towards the blue-haired boy, who slowly looked back at him with an evil glare before screeching,

"MY NAME IS MINATO FUCKING ARISAT—"


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5!_

 _Hey guys! I'm pretty sure you all know what's happening. That's right. Unfortunately, I'll still be on hiatus for a while, reasons being that my homework pile has been killing me recently, and I'm barely even getting any sleep anymore. (I'm not a night owl - I do need my sleep) Don't worry, I am not planning on abandoning this story._

 _Homework, club activities, class committee work and other official commitments have been making my life really difficult for me to even get my hands onto the computer and start writing a new chapter for this story, and it's sad because I really, really want to show you all what I have in store for Makoto's, Futaba's, Ryuji's, Haru's, Goro's and Akira's arcs. I guess the good side is that Ann's and Yusuke's arcs are done, but that's barely even scratching the surface of what I have planned for this story._

 _I am currently still in the middle of writing Chapter 20, and I don't know when I'll ever be able to post it, but please do be patient. I am trying my best to keep myself together right now, so I do hope that you guys can understand too. Do look forward to it!_

 _With that, enjoy the story!_

* * *

Several days have passed, and Makoto was finally all recovered from her severe fever despite her leg still being injured. However, the gang was just relieved that she was finally discharged from the hospital. Now sitting at the Pharmacy area, they were waiting to pick up some of the medicine for her, including one of which just in case her fever came back.

As usual, Akira, being the enthusiastic boy, decided to go and pick up the medicine. Ryuji decided to follow him, feeling a little uneasy about this decision, while Goro tagged along simply because he could.

"Alright, I have already taught you the measures to treat Makoto Niijima-san's wounds. Now, over here, I have the medicine for severe fever just in case she has a relapse due to infections or what not," the nice pharmacist smiled as she told them, gesturing to one of the boxes in the medicine basket for the patient. "Now, this one is a suppository. How do you give this suppository to the patient?"

"... I feed the patient?"

Akira's reply made Ryuji let out an unholy screech and collapse onto the floor, while Goro burst out into a haughty laugh.

"Akira, my goodness, you're supposed to put a suppository up someone's ass—"

"Okay, that's enough!" Ryuji suddenly screamed, leapt up and covered the flamboyant boy's mouth. "I had enough of hearing that language for the day, okay?!"

"Come on, Ryu-chan. You're always the good boy..." Goro sighed and shook his head in a dramatic fashion.

"... Um," the pharmacist cleared her throat awkwardly before She continued, "Basically, I have told you all of the steps on how to give Niijima-san her medicine. Is that okay?"

Ryuji quickly nodded as he snatched up the basket and ran away before anything else bad could happen and replied, "Yes, thank you very much, Aikawa-san!"

"RYUJI! WE HAVEN'T PAID FOR THE MEDICINE!"

* * *

"Well, and we're back home, Mako-chan! How do you feel now?" Haru asked cheerily as she wheeled the brunette into the apartment with the sister tagging behind.

"It feels so damn good to be home~" Makoto sighed as she took in a breath of air from the house. "I've been so freaking homesick ever since I realised I had to spend so many nights in the hospital."

"It was only five nights, Makoto," Sae sighed. "Then again, they are really long if you are actually ill."

Makoto stared at her sister before she shivered. "Five nights... Ugh, don't remind me about that game, Sis."

"Still a little scared of that horror game, Makoto?"

"Stop teasing me!"

"Alright, alright! Um, let's watch some television, shall we?" Haru giggled lightly as she picked up the TV remote, trying to ease the situation.

Instantly, a voice came up on air. "Heh... I won't let you take me down that easily!"

Makoto's eyes light up as she watched the main female character flip herself out of the antagonist's grasp. "Is that… Fire in Her Eyes...?! Hell yeah, that's Kazuki Akechi's recent show! Oh my god!"

"Fire in Her Eyes…?" Haru was confused, until Sae spoke up.

"Makoto's been into it recently since she's a huge fan of Kazuki Akechi," the grey-haired lady explained. "You know who she is, don't you?"

She nodded as she turned to look at Makoto, who was already absorbed in the TV show. "Yeah. A veteran in the Action Movie industry, and Goro Akechi's mother."

"The first time she saw Kazuki-san onscreen, Makoto was amazed by her performance, and vowed to be like her one day," Sae continued as a smile grew on her red lips. "Ever since, she trained herself in martial arts and parkour, and never let her willpower fade away. It was heartening to see her so motivated, but I was always worried that she was going to get injured doing something rash since she upholds a strong sense of justice, especially for the weak. Who would have thought…"

Seeing Sae's smile fade off, the auburn-haired girl patted her shoulder. "It's okay, Sae-san. You don't have to worry. We'll take care of her."

"I'm glad to see that Makoto has such amazing friends around her," she sighed in relief, but then frowned once again. "Despite this, I can't help but feel a little disappointed in myself…"

"It'll be okay, Sae-san…"

As Haru tried to comfort the older Niijima sister, no one saw the brunette's guilt-ridden expression on her face.

* * *

 _Meanwhile…_

"Wow, that flip was an immediate eleven out of ten! You're amazing as always, Mom."

The lady whose brown hair had been tied into a low ponytail smiled serenely and giggled lightly at her son's words. "You flatter me too much, Ro-chan."

Goro chuckled back before he sighed sadly. "But it's true! Meanwhile, your poor son here can't even hold himself up against one opponent…"

"Don't worry about that, Ro-chan. Aren't there coaches who teach you parkour skills when you go for filming for Persona 5?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but the filming hasn't reached the Casino Palace yet. That is when Crow comes in. I heard that Sae-san is going to be acting as the owner of the Casino Palace though, and I can't wait!"

Kazuki laughed lightly once again, not a single trace of her fierce and playful demeanour when acting ever present. "You're really excited about this, aren't you?"

Goro smiled as he sat up enthusiastically. "Of course! I'm acting with so many of my friends, after all! Plus, I hadn't seen Akira in such a long time… You did see how shocked I was when I realised I was going to be acting alongside him in Persona 5, didn't you, Mom?"

"Huhuhu… Of course I did. You looked so elated that day," his mother smiled before she sat back in the plush couch once again and queried. "Anyways, speaking of Akemi's son… when are you going to tell him about that?"

He gave her an exaggerated quizzical look. "About… what?"

"Well, about your feelings for him, of course."

"…! MOM!"

Her aristocrat-like laughter soon turned into a boisterous laugh as she waved a hand at him. "Alright, alright! I shall not embarrass you about that. But really, you've held a torch for him for such a long time. Aren't you going to tell him one day?"

The doe-eyed boy looked down, his face starting to burn bright red."Um… well… maybe, I don't really know. I don't even know if he feels the same way as I do. Plus, would he…?"

Able to guess what Goro was thinking, Kazuki sat up, her voice reverting back to her usual soft tone. "If he really thinks of you differently once he knows about how you feel about him, then he's not really the one for you, is he?"

"… But…" he muttered hesitantly before he looked back up. "I-I think it's best if I have some time to ponder about this situation…"

"That's a wise decision too," she replied with a nod. "I'm just giving you a gentle nudge, after all. The next course of action will be up to you to decide."

A smile grew on Kazuki's face as she observed her son's behaviour. _"Hehe, despite your flamboyant personality that you have gained just to taunt your biological father about his mindset, your shyness when it comes to these types of things haven't changed."_

"Oh, um, I know this is really sudden but… Mom?"

She diverted her attention towards her son's words. "Yes, Ro-chan?"

"Do you remember my friend, Makoto Niijima? You know, the girl with short brown hair and red eyes?"

Kazuki thought for a moment before she replied, "Ah, yes. The one who was training herself to be an actress specialising in action movies like me. Is that her?"

Goro nodded. "Yeah. Well… I was wondering if you could come and talk to her a little bit since she really idolises you."

"That depends if I have the time. Why the sudden question, though?"

He took a deep breath before explaining the situation that Makoto had gone through to his mother. "The thing is…"

* * *

The melodious, clear notes of the piano echoed in the acoustics of the living room as Futaba Sakura's fingers glided across the piano keys skilfully. Despite this, however, it was obvious that through the crescendo and the look on her face that the orange-haired girl was beginning to get frustrated for some reason. Suddenly, a loud 'BANG!', the sound of mismatched keys being played, was heard resounding across the room.

"Futaba, is everything okay…?" Wakaba asked worriedly as she hurriedly stepped out of her room which happened to be close by.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "… I'm fine. Don't worry, Mom. I'm just practising for the competition, and I kind of feel a little frustrated."

Her mother frowned. "Don't stress yourself out too much, alright?"

Futaba nodded back as she turned her attention back on the piano. "I'll be fine."

Wakaba continued to stare at her daughter. "Anyway, our family will be heading out for dinner later, so make sure you're ready by five o' clock, okay?"

The bespectacled child turned towards her mother. "We're heading out tonight…?! Um… well… Is it okay if I stay at home and practise instead? You guys can get some takeaway food for me instead!"

"Futaba, this is a family gathering…"

"Mom, please, I need to focus on the competition. I haven't even completed composing the score that I wish to submit for that day!"

The frown on Wakaba's youthful-looking face creased even deeper. "Alright, but you do know that your father isn't going to be happy about this."

"I'll explain to him when I have to. Don't worry about it for now, Mom!"

The raven-haired lady stood there for a moment, analysing her daughter's behaviour before she shook her head and headed back into her room. Meanwhile, Futaba's frustrations grew as she made a mark on the score that she was drafting in front of her. Maroon eyes continued to stare at the sheet before angry hands snatched the entire paper off, tearing the work into two and tossing the scraps into the trash beside her.

As Futaba felt a strange feeling of disappointment, frustration and rage grow inside her, she couldn't help but want to scream. Why? Futaba had already sacrificed so much time that she even decided not to visit Makoto or even see her out of the hospital such that she could focus on her competition! Why was everything going completely wrong?!

"This sounds freaking horrible… Why are all of my works recently such utter rubbish?"

"… No. I must perfect this. I must win at all costs."

* * *

"Something is awfully wrong with Futaba lately…" Wakaba sighed as she swirled her glass of juice around, allowing the ice to make a clinking sound as they collided with each other.

Wakaba and Sojiro were having dinner together at a nearby ramen restaurant. Surprisingly enough, they had also bumped into their niece Chihaya and her boyfriend Yuuki, and decided that they were going to have dinner together.

Yuuki looked up with dark blue eyes of curiosity. "Mm? What's the matter, Oba-chan?"

Yuuki had always been known to call people in a rather affectionate manner, so Wakaba didn't really mind when he called her by such.

"It's probably got to do with her competition," Chihaya replied to him before turning back to her aunt. "Is she too stressed out about it?"

Sojiro sighed as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That Futaba… always a perfectionist. Whenever something doesn't seem right, she'll always ensure that everything is okay before she even decides on what to do next."

The blue-haired boy nodded to himself as he lifted his glass of green tea to his lips. "Hm… I never knew that such a shy introvert like Futaba-chan could be so… intense. Will she be okay?"

"You know, introverts tend to be more prone to being perfectionists…" Chihaya grumbled as she twirled her noodles around in her bowl with her chopsticks. "And to be honest, whether she'll be okay really depends on how she copes with it. How has she been doing so far?"

The older man mused, "Routine-wise, she still seems fine. She's still eating all of her meals… but she eats them at her study table now. I don't really think it's healthy at all, but she wouldn't hear the end of it."

"She seems a little more irritable with us recently too…" the bespectacled lady added with a small sigh. "But it seems like she's still getting along well with her friends. Hopefully, these friendships of hers wouldn't be damaged so easily."

"Well, I've hung out with Futaba-chan a couple of times whenever we did filming for Persona 5, and she still seemed rather cheerful," Yuuki informed them, "But then again, recently, she's pretty busy with her music course, it seems."

Sojiro nodded back at him. "Thank you for watching over her, Mishima-kun."

Yuuki smiled sheepishly and waved back, but then noticed Chihaya's strange behaviour. "Oji-chan, it's okay to just call me Yuuki, really… Anyways, are you not gonna eat, Yaya?"

The violet-eyed girl gave a deep sigh as she replied, "I don't know, man… I've been feeling really tired recently, and I completely lost my appetite at this point. Can you help me finish my ramen, Yuuki-chan?"

"Hey, it's not good to skip meals, you know! Eat! This isn't the first time you've skipped meals already, is it?"

"Aw, come on!" Chihaya pouted and folded her arms in irritation.

"Actually," Wakaba piped in, "Yuuki-kun's right. Plus, you look a lot thinner than before, Chihaya. Are you sure you're alright?"

She groaned as she placed both hands on her face. "I really don't know. I've been feeling so lethargic recently, and my breathing rate's gone completely irregular too… I even have night sweats and lost at least three kilograms in the past few days!"

Sojiro frowned. "You should go see a doctor, if that is the case. That doesn't sound normal at all. Could you be down with an illness?"

"I'm just praying that it's me lacking energy because I've been sleeping so late after working on all those essays…" Chihaya muttered in a frustrated voice.

Yuuki breathed out a small sigh, then shifted over to give his girlfriend a side hug. "Don't worry, I'm sure you're alright."

Despite this, feeling Chihaya's slightly cooler body made a strange, horrible feeling grow inside him.


End file.
